Come Together
by jozb22
Summary: The marauders have a grisly fate ahead of them... Or do they? Tom Riddle never went dark side, and now, our favorite miscreants have their whole lives ahead of them. Peter might not turn traitor and James may live past twenty-one. Lily Evans may not be around, but in her place are two new heroines. Rated T for violence and an overdramatic Sirius Black.
1. Come Together

The two girls crept silently out of Gryffindor tower late on a Wednesday night. They were hidden under an invisibility cloak, completely undetectable, except for one thing.

They were arguing.

Loudly.

"Ellianna Claybourne, will you _please_ shut up! I've told you sixteen times that this is perfectly safe! I've made sure that Filch is chasing Peeves down in the third floor corridor," the first voice shouted, sounding stern and somewhat exasperated.

"But Rose, if we get caught, we'll have to do a detention. _Again_. I still haven't gotten all of the bubotuber pus off of my cardigan," the second voice argued.

"But we won't _get_ caught, will we?" Rose demanded. "This time, I've taken all of the precautions. Nothing-"

"Who's there?! Show yourselves!" A voice shouted.

The girls jumped and whipped around. Luckily for them, it was only the portrait of the Fat Lady, on the door of Gryffindor tower. Ellie gave Rose a pointed look, almost to say 'I told you so'.

Just as they were about to proceed down the corridor, the portrait hole opened again, and another girl stepped through. She was shorter than the two under the cloak, and her hair was long and brown.

It was Ellie's sister, Lynn.

"Oh, I do suppose that there must be a party somewhere tonight." The fat lady remarked as Lynn glared at her and continued down the corridor.

"Wonder what _she's_ doing." Ellie whispered, looking like she wanted to go after her only sibling.

"It doesn't matter." Rose replied as the pair started walking down the opposite staircase.

"We have to get to the greenhouses and the potions store if we want to get all of the ingredients that we need to finish the Felix Felicis before the end of term."

"Fine," Ellie submitted as the girls came to the first of the moving staircases.

They made their way down to the entrance hall in the dim torchlight, only to find the doors bolted.

"Oh, isn't this just _brilliant,_ " Ellie huffed loudly.

"Stow it, I hear someone coming," Rose silenced. The girls shuffled to the nearest wall, still under their cloak.

"James, it's _locked_ ," said the first voice, also invisible.

"Well, I'm _sure_ I didn't know that, Sirius," said another voice, laced with sarcasm.

"How could you not know that?" Wheezed the third voice. "We're standing right in front of the door."

"He was _kidding_ Peter," said a fourth voice.

All of them were boys by the sound of it, and Rose and Ellie knew them well. They were also Gryffindors, in their year nonetheless. Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin

Everyone knew that they were always in trouble. Rose grinned to think that she and Ellie were on the same level as the biggest trouble makers at the school.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Shhhh."

"Would you like to do the honors Sirius?"

"Of course, James. _Alohamora_."

The doors creaked open, and James swore happily at the noise.

The girls followed behind the group, as quietly as they could, still unrecognized by the boys. They headed towards the dark forest. Halfway there, Ellie stopped abruptly, almost throwing off their cloak.

"Where are we going?"

"Following them, obviously," Rose replied, made impatient by their pause.

"So we can't follow my sister, but we can follow _them_?" Ellie countered.

"This is different," Rose turned, watching as the grass pushed down where the boys walked. They were getting away.

"Damn right it is! That's the dark forest, there's all kinds of nasty stuff in there. We could die! And if we get caught, we'll have detention for so long, we won't remember what the sun looks like!"

"Look. We would need to go to the forest for horklump eggs anyways, so we might as well go now. If we stay in earshot of them, they can help if something happens. Now can we _please_ go? We're losing them."

"Fine," Ellie replied, grumpily.

The girls sprinted to catch up.

They entered the forest just a bit behind the boys, easily found by their loud laughing at various puns.

The branches loomed over their heads and blocked out the quarter moon, and it left the forest black. A path was barely visible at their feet, covered by roots and leaves. The trunks on the trees were gnarled and twisted, and shadows of inkier darkness danced at the corners of their eyes.

The girls made it all the way in to a clearing before they realized anything was wrong.

"Where'd they go?"

While they had been overwhelmed by the forest, the boys had gone.

"Damn it! We've lost them!" Rose all but yelled, the darkness swallowing up her shout almost instantly.

"No, we've just found you. _Accio Cloak_!" James Potter yelled.

"No!" The girls grasped the folds of their cloak as it tried to fly away.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Ellie shouted, sending a jet of red light into the forest where the cloak was pulling towards. There was a yell, and a curse as the spell connected. The cloak dropped.

Then another light came from the opposite side of the clearing, this one purple, just clearing the girl's heads.

" _Oi_!" Rose shouted as she returned the favor by shooting a spell across the clearing towards the second ambusher.

" _Protego_!"

Ellie shouted as a blue light came straight at Rose's chest from a third angle.

"Nice shot Remus!" Sirius called, but there was no time to reply.

Before anyone knew it, a full duel had broken out, and light was flying everywhere, illuminating the woods in a fashion near to a strobe at a disco.

The faces of the girls were fierce as they stood back to back, firing off spells into the gloom. Nothing so much as touched them, as they practically read each other's minds; defending perfectly, and attacking with such vigor that their opponents were thrown off their feet, literally. After only a minute of dueling, Peter had been hit in the face by a bat-bogey hex, and was on the ground with his head down trying to avoid being hit again.

Remus had soon been hit by a stunning spell (which had been shot by Sirius), and was lying unconscious against a tree.

Now it was only James and Sirius against the two girls.

They parried back and forth for a while, Rose against James and Ellie blocking Sirius' every move. The boys were slowly advancing as they got a feel for the weaknesses of the girls.

Then, suddenly;  
"NOW!" Rose roared.

The girls swirled around and switched places blocking the boys' attacks, so quickly that they were left confused, if only for a moment.

But a moment was enough, and in that time-  
" _Incarcerous_!" Ropes shot out of Rose's wand at Sirius, and they sheared straight through his Shield Charm, as he crumpled to the ground with a surprised cry.

"Sirius!" James cried as Ellie shot a jinx at him.

His legs started to tremble as he looked down. Then they started to bend in unnatural ways as he face planted. His legs kept moving even after he was down, kicking in the air and twisting together and apart.

"Really? A jelly-leg jinx, Ellie?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind," Ellie replied, bashfully.

The girls laughed.

"Alright, let's sort this mess out," Rose said. Ellie moved towards Sirius to untie him.

"No, I think we'd best leave those two for last. You start with Peter,"  
Ellie turned and started the delicate work of lifting the hex.

" _Enervate_." Rose murmured.  
Lupin shook his head and his eyes opened as the stunning spell was reversed.

"Thanks," he grumbled.

"No trouble, unlike those two," she gestured to James (whose feet were still kicking), and Sirius, who was glaring at them all murderously.

"Oh, I understand _completely_ ," Remus replied, returning Sirius' stare. He apparently was displeased with the whole situation.

"Alright, Els, let's get to Black," Rose said, starting over to him.

"Do we have to? He looks a bit like he might kill us," Ellie remarked.

"Yes, unfortunately. If we leave him, he's bound to be eaten before sunrise," Rose replied.

Rose strode up to Sirius and smirked.  
"Not so hot now are we, Mr. Black?"  
From the ground Sirius looked up at the girl, and got a dangerous glint in his eye. Before she could question it though, it was gone. She shot a spell that burned through the ropes.

"I'd like to think that that whole incident was all James' fault," Sirius replied nonchalantly.

"Come now, you can't blame _everything_ on me," someone said, directly behind Ellie.

She spun around so quickly to face him that she tripped on a root.

Directly into James' arms.

"How-"

"The counter jinx is just _unjellify_. Not so difficult," James smirked. Rose was trying hard not to laugh, as Sirius snuck up from behind her.

"Never turn your back on an opponent, dear. It could be your undoing," Sirius whispered, from behind Rose. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Dear me, I must have forgotten," she replied innocently.

Something was pulling at Sirius' leg. Suddenly, he was hanging upside down from a tree, a vine magically grown around his ankle, another unwinding from the tree and pulling his wand out of his hand.

"How's that for my undoing?" She smirked.

"When's the wedding?" James asked Ellie quietly.

She laughed in reply. The sound seemed to jar the other two back to reality.

Sirius dropped to the ground with a flop as the vines recoiled.

Rose winced.

"Sorry. Still working on that," she told him, offering him a hand. He took it gladly.

"Not a problem," he responded, dusting off his robes which were covered with a dark dust.

"What exactly are you doing out here?" Remus asked. It suddenly occurred to both of the girls that he was a prefect. Ellie was worried, but Rose wasn't. She was one too, and she knew Remus well enough to know that he couldn't report them for this.

"Just going for an evening stroll. And yourselves?" She asked, calmly.

"Just the usual," Sirius replied coyly.

"I'm sure. And that's why you're carrying some incredibly dangerous potion ingredients with you," she replied. "Ellie. What do those look like?"

"Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say that it looks like the leaves of Mandragora turcomanicav. But I do know better. That plant is only found in the Middle East. And its leaves only have one practical use. Can you guess what that is, Rose?"

"Hmmmm. Tricky one. I'd have to say…Animagus. But, Ellie, isn't the ritual to become an animagus incredibly dangerous and illegal enough to land you in Azkaban for several years?" Rose asked.

Realizing that the gig was up, James was sensible enough to stop the two girls before they tore down every shred of dignity that he had.

"All right. Fine, you caught us. But, Peter, are those Ashwinder eggs?"

"Looks like it, James," Peter replied.

"And Remus, aren't those what, a Class C non-tradable substance?" Sirius asked.

"Class D, actually," Remus corrected. "Unless they were collected by her, that's a fine _over_ a thousand galleons," he remarked.

"Rose! You told me those were Doxy eggs!" Ellie exclaimed, realizing the danger of the eggs that they were carrying around, the ones that had come by owl last week.

"I wasn't going to let you touch them anyway," Rose reasoned. "So, we're even," she challenged the boys.

"Not quite. You still blew our cover. We were trying to hunt billywigs tonight. You scared them off," Sirius said.

" _Billywigs_? You really _are_ going to try to be an animagus, then?" She asked.

"Yeah," Peter confirmed. "We've been doing it since second year. Just perfected it last w-"  
He stopped when he saw the look that Sirius was giving him. "Oh, no, wait, I mean-"

"S'all right Peter." James said. "Yeah. We're gonna try for it. Why?"

"We want in." Rose said, after exchanging a look with Ellie.

"You can't just join up halfway through-" Sirius began.

"Actually, if what Peter said was right, we can. The first process doesn't have to be done individually. Since you haven't used the mandrake leaves yet, you haven't even started the potion. _Or_ you're doing it wrong," she replied.

"You've tried-"

"Nah," Ellie interrupted. "Just looked into it. We couldn't have. Our mums are too nosy. We would've been caught if we brought it home. Which we had to do," she explained.

"All right. Say we let you in. What's in it for _us_?" Sirius asked.

"We'll Rose's the best in the class at potions. Behind Snape that is. And her parents run an apothecary. Anything you need, and she can have it here in less than a week."

"That's not much," Sirius persisted.

"Fine. We can just take our Felix Felicis and-" Rose began.

"You've made Felix Felicis?" Remus asked incredulously. The pure gold luck potion was notoriously hard to brew.

"We will have in about six months. Enough for all parties, _if_ you're interested."

The boys all looked at each other, trying to decide.

Finally, James called for a chat.

They turned and shuffled a few feet away, while James cast a _Muffliato_ spell so that they couldn't be overheard.

"What do you think?"

"I'm all for it," Sirius said. They all rolled their eyes at him.

"Sirius, just because you're head over heels-"

"I am _not_ head over heels. Look, they're right. She's the best potion student in our year, and she can get us ingredients. Plus, I think that we could all do with some liquid luck," he argued.

"Remus?"

Remus sighed. "As much as I disapprove of this whole thing, I think that he has a point. And, I think I'm not wrong in saying that she'll report us if she doesn't get her way. We've got much more to lose than they do," he surmised.

"Peter?" James prompted.

Behind James' back, Sirius was giving out a death glare that said to agree with him. An evil eye that told him that he had messed up, but now he had the chance to redeem himself. And to him, that was better than anything those girls could offer.

"Remus is right. I don't think my mother would like me getting caught much," he said.

"Well then, I guess that settles-"

"Oh but James, we can't cut off the parliamentary process. What say you, sir?"

"Well, I say… This is going to be interesting," James grinned lopsidedly.

"Then that makes it unanimous."

XX

The minute the boys had turned, Ellie cast a muffling charm in their direction.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

"What?" Rose asked, looking off after Sirius.

"Don't you-Ugh! Look at me!" Ellie called. Rose turned back to look at her sheepishly.

"You just got us involved in something that could land us both in Azkaban! Don't you ' _What_ ' me!"

"D'you _honestly_ think that Dumbledore would let _any_ of us go to Azkaban? Think it through Ellie. Worst comes to worse, we all get expelled, and I'll just end up back with a stable job at the apothecary, which is where I'll be anyway. We can even hire you. Think of it. You love Diagon Alley. And I'll only have to run the shop for a few years until I've earned enough to move out and do my own work."

Ellie did think it through, and her original doubt left, replaced by a feeling of anxiety based on whether or not they would be allowed to work with the boys, or if they would be rejected.

"Think they'll let us join?" Ellie asked, tentatively.

"Why? James Potter as cute up close as you're always saying he is from a distance?"

" _Rose_ ," Ellie whined.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist. But yeah, I think the odds are in our favor. Especially thanks to your persuasion. Thanks for that, by the way. Very flattering."

"Well, I thought I'd just make you look good in front of your future husband. How are you so sure?"

Rose ignored the comment about Sirius.

"Look at how they're all nodding. Lupin _knows_ I'll turn them in if they say no. And he doesn't think Dumbledore will be so forgiving. Especially because of his- _Well_ , never mind. Sirius was the first one to speak in our favor. Pettigrew wouldn't dare disagree with the majority. Plus he's got his poor old mother to think of. If he gets put in Azkaban, how will she be able to live through her old age in luxury? And James, of course, the most interesting one, look at how he keeps glancing at you and grinning. He's got eyes for you. Wouldn't say no if I paid him to," she commented, smiling slyly.

"Well Sherlock," she said, "You've just spoiled the surprise again. But stow it, here they come."

They all wandered back to the center of the clearing.

"All right." James nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "You're in. But, there are a couple of conditions. We've no intention of getting caught, and if we are, you have to swear not to squeal. One of us goes down, they go alone. No telling anyone else. Not your siblings. Not your other friends. Not your boyfriends-"

"Ha! As if we even had any," Rose said under her breath. If she had been looking, she would have seen that strange look in Sirius' eye again.

"Ellie can set up a Fidelius Charm. Right now. No one except the secret keeper can say anything, or tell anyone. Her mum invented it. Ellie's brilliant with all that kind of stuff," Rose offered.

"Perfect," Lupin replied, looking a bit relieved.

"Who wants to be secret keeper?" Ellie asked.

"Better make it James," Sirius replied.

"Brilliant. Just give me some space," Ellie said.

She, as per usual performed the charm flawlessly. Charms were her thing. It ran in the family.

"Alright, then. Meet you one am, tomorrow morning, in the common room. Be sure you're not followed."

"You boys need anything from the potion master's closet? We're making a visit tomorrow afternoon," Rose offered. They would have to go tomorrow instead, if they wanted to get back to the dorms before first light. They were off schedule.

"No, but on your way through the greenhouse, pick up some moonlace for us, won't you?" Sirius asked.

"Blue, or silver?" Rose replied, not missing a beat.

"Silver. Five leaves, plucked from the lowest tier of five individual plants, the leaves pointed west. Make sure that the flesh-eating slugs haven't gotten to them," Remus replied.

"Wait for the moon to show through the clouds, yeah?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Lupin replied.

"Well then, we'd best be off," Rose said, picking up her invisibility cloak and holding it over her head.

"See you in the morning," James replied.

XX

The girls went off across the silent grounds, to the greenhouses, carefully avoiding the venomous tentacula that was always trying to cling on to the students. They found the moonlace in Professor Sprout's personal greenhouse, and using a compass spell, plucked the lowest, westernmost silver leaves when the moon shone through the clouds, the quarter barely casting a shadow through the grimy glass roof of the nursery, but the glow of he plants themselves serving as enough elumination.

When they were finished, they spun the pots around so that it didn't show which leaves they had taken. Ellie put them into a spare vial and they left, locking the room behind them, and again skirting out through the rows of plants. They grabbed a pair of spare dragon hide gloves that they had originally come for. Both of their pairs had gotten covered in bubotuber pus last week, and they wouldn't be able to get their own replacements for a while.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"What were you saying about Remus earlier?"

"Just… Just a theory. Nothing really."

The cool September night had a faint wind blowing. Rose was struck by the beauty of the castle grounds, barely lit, but still etched perfectly in her mind. After five years at school, she had, in fact, learned something. _Look at that._

They again came through the great oak doors of the great hall. Filch was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, and I'll be needing some of your ink to make some exploding quills again to pay off Peeves for tonight," Rose remarked, whispering through the gloom.

"Fine," replied Ellie, too tired to argue.

As they got back to the fat lady, they again paused as someone entered, walking slowly, dragging her feet. Lynn, again.

"What could she be doing so late at night?" Ellie wondered aloud as the portrait closed behind her.

"I don't know, but I caught Nate sneaking out last week," Rose replied, referring to her brother, the star quidditch seeker, in his third year, like Lynn.

They trudged up to the dormitory silently, Ellie flopping into her bed as soon as they entered, not bothering to even take her shoes off, Rose pulling out a book and reading a few chapters. That girl had an ungodly sleep schedule.

The other girls in the dorm were used to it. Victoria, Alina and Ruby. They knew that the girls were _always_ into trouble (though they mearly never got caught), and they were content to let them do as they pleased, just as long as none of them were involved. The tight knit group of fifth years never told any of each other's secrets.

At least as long as they didn't want to get in trouble with the prefect that they shared a dorm with.

Rose finished her book, and quietly as she could, put it on the bedside table, wondering all the while what the hell she had gotten herself into. Her wand under the covers was letting out a silvery blue glow, not unlike the moonlace she had just stolen from the green house.

" _Nox_." She whispered. The light shut out.

All else aside, at least this adventure would be interesting.

She fell asleep, dreaming of the moon, the stars, and Sirius Black.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _Hey Guys! I'm a huge Marauders fan, and I'm thrilled to be writing this! Let me know what you think, good or bad! I have a lot of this Prewritten, so my updates might be kind of sporadic. Also, I know that my grammar and punctuation and spelling really suck, so sorry about that! Thanks for reading, and Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _xxxx_

 _so its now almost a year since i posted this (yikes) and it needs some fixing. You might see some small changes along the way as i think of details to fix, and hopefully, overall this will become a better piece. Thanks for hanging with me through the editing process!_


	2. Crime and Punishment

"Are you _sure_ that we have to do this?" Rose asked hesitantly, as they neared Slughorn's office.

"Are _you_ the one asking _me_?" Ellie responded. " _Yes_ , _of course_ we do. You told me so yourself," Ellie sighed.

"I just feel bad. This is the _third_ _time_ we've taken something right out from under his nose," Rose explained.

"He'd _probably_ give it to us, if we asked," Ellie reasoned.

"That may be true, but then he'd know what we were doing. I guess we're okay."

They reached the large dungeon door that led directly to the classroom and office.

"Go ahead," Ellie prompted.

Rose knocked on Slughorn's door and it opened to reveal the head of Slytherin house, and the resident Potions Master, Professor Slughorn. He was a little older than middle aged, perhaps, his brown hair beginning to fade and bald, his love for sweets and mead showing. However, his robes and possessions were all brand new and of the highest quality. He had connections, you see, friends in high places, as he liked to say. Anyone who knew Horace Slughorn knew about the Slug Club, how he had an uncanny knack for choosing students who were bound to end up famous, or inventive, or in any other way successful. Or even if their parents had been in the club. He then took these students and gave them privileges, invitations to special luncheons, dinners and even his annual Christmas party and end of term celebrations.

Ellie was a third generation club member, (her grandfather had been one of the founding members and one of Slughorn's all-time favorite students). She probably would've been invited anyway. All of her teachers loved her. The same went for Rose. Both of her parents had been in the club, (that was how her and Ellie had known each other for so long. All of their parents had been in together), but she would have been invited in anyways, her brilliance in potions making her one of Slughorn's star students. His protégée, if you will. He preferred her enormously over the Snape boy, even if he might have been a mite better in class. _Just had no personality, that one._

Ellie threw on the invisiblity cloak just as the door was opening, leaving Rose seemingly alone in the hall.

"Yes? how may I help you my dear?" He asked pleasantly.

"Sir, I have a question about the potions essay. Professor McGonagall said you might have time to see me?" She questioned, holding out the essay in question.

"Yes, do come in. I'm supervising a detention right now, terribly dull work. I'm sure you know Sirius Black?"

As they entered into the office, Sirius was sitting in the corner of the room, wearing thick dragon hide gloves and pickling what looked like some kind of ears; they were a bright magenta and sent red pus everywhere. Serving another detention.

"Of course," Rose said smoothly, nodding in greeting to Sirius as she followed Slughorn to his desk at the far end of the room. Sirius grinned and pushed his hair out of his eyes with his elbow.

"Nice and small slices, Mr. Black," Slughorn prompted.

"Yes sir," Sirius replied.

He sat down behind his desk and pulled a box of candy out of one of the drawers.

"Care for a piece of crystalized pineapple? It is absolutely my favorite. The owner of Honeyduke's is a dear friend,"

"No, sir, I'm allergic to pineapple, actually," she replied honestly. There was something like a snort from Sirius in the corner. Slughorn didn't hear it.

"Tragic! Simply tragic! What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Slughorn asked, licking his fingers and putting the box away.

" _Well,_ " Rose launched into an incredibly long and complicated discussion about something similar to the essay topic, but not actually her thesis. She'd had the paper written for days really, but by asking about several more advanced topics that the textbook had touched upon, and asking complicated questions she already the answers to, she effectively kept Slughorn busy for more than half an hour, giving Ellie more than enough time to break into the store and get back to the locked and out of order girls bathroom on the first floor where they were hiding their potion.

"Thank you _so much_ Professor. I like to have a more thorough understanding of the topics before I write," she thanked when he had finished.

"A good habit to get into, if I do say so myself," he chuckled. "Mr. Black, you're free to go. In the meantime, should you feel it is necessary to use your potions text as kindling once again, please be sure that it is not the school's copy," Slughorn said, dismissing Sirius.

"I'll try to be more careful, Professor," Sirius said, clearly not minding the detention much. He must have had so many that they didn't bother him anymore.

"Thank you again, Professor," Rose replied, exiting with Sirius on her heels.

Once they were out in the hallway, they began to talk.

"Did he _really_ give you a week's detention for accidentally setting that old book on fire?" Rose asked, curious.

"Yeah. He really doesn't like me much. Wanted me in Slytherin, I suspect. Have the whole family set," Sirius replied easily.

"I'm from a double Ravenclaw family myself," Rose responded, thinking of her parents.

There was a pause. Everyone knew that Sirius didn't get along with his family.

"And you're still in? For tonight?" he asked.

"Don't think I could get out of it if I wanted to," she finished as they made their way to the great hall, where the usual feast awaited them.

"See you then, I suppose," Sirius said in farewell.

"Yeah," she replied, her words already being drowned out by the hum of voices in the hall.

She went to sit at the far end of the Gryffindor table with her friends, across from Ellie today, and gave her friend a questioning look. Ellie nodded. Their plan had worked.

Xxx

Meanwhile, Sirius had joined the rest of the marauders to stew and some kind of rice.

James gave him a sly look as he sat down.

"Anything you'd like to tell us?"

"No," Sirius replied, sitting down and serving himself dinner.

"What about _you_ James? Anything you'd like to let the group know?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows comically.

"Yeah, actually. Tonight, when we meet the girls, don't say anything about Moony. Or the map. We don't want them to know everything," James prompted.

"No kidding," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"What are we supposed to say about not having a cauldron for Moony?" Peter asked. He had, by fifth year, begun to try and think ahead, to prevent his blunders before he screwed up too badly. It worked. Sometimes, at least.

"Well, you can just tell the truth, and say I don't fancy the idea of burning my guts out for some stupid prank," Lupin replied.

"Come now, Remus. We won't be half as likely to burn our guts out now. We've got the smartest girls in our house on the team," James replied.

"And besides, we're not intending to be pranking anyone with this," Sirius said, seriously.

"Well, I just hope we're making the right decision," Lupin told them all.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," James replied. "We'll be fine."

But all of them would have been lying if they had said that they weren't just the teeniest bit worried.  
XXXXXX

 _Feel free to review with any thoughts! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _xxxx_

 _post edit: yeah so i fixed this chapter too. I think i also fixed the spacing issue, so that's a major plus. Thanks for sticking with me!_


	3. Gryffindor Family Secret

The common room was busy until about midnight, when the last of the fifth and seventh years studying for exams went up to bed, tired on a Thursday evening. Ellie had fallen asleep on the sofa, and Rose was reading again in her armchair by the fire. She had quite a collection of muggle books, and almost preferred their fantasy genre to anything a wizard had written. She put down Howl's Moving Castle when she heard the first steps coming down from the boys dormitory.

"Muggle books?" Sirius asked, coming around behind the chair.

"Better than anything you've ever written," she replied.

"Not true. I'm sure you haven't even seen my most recent potions essay," he replied.

"If its anything like your grade in that class, I'm afraid it would be completely illegible."

"No, that's just his penmanship," James replied, prodding the sleeping Ellie with his wand.

"Do I have to?" Ellie groaned, turning over and swatting away James' hand.

"Yes, dear, I'm afraid we don't have all night," Ellie seemed to be shocked awake by the sound of his voice.

"Pity," she said, sitting up and yawning. "All of this sneaking around the castle after curfew is exhausting me."

"Well, then, it's your lucky day," Sirius said.

"Why?" Rose asked curiously.

"Remus, would you like to do the honors?"

Lupin smiled a bit.  
"I would love to."

He walked over to the mantle and tapped it three times with his wand.

Golden letters glowed through the marble, and read something in a rugged print that looked very old.

 _"Courage is wrought by the memories in our hearts."_

"It's our motivation to be proper Gryffindors," James said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Watch this." He took his wand and placed it to his temple. It drew out a long, silvery wisp, almost of smoke that moved with the tip of his wand. He pushed it directly into the side of the fireplace.

Suddenly, part of the wall, right next to where Peter was standing, was gone, like magic.  
"It takes a brave memory to open it," Peter explained, lighting his wand tip, and holding it over his head as he stepped into the chamber.

"A secret passage?" Rose asked. "And here I thought I already knew them all."

"This one's an old Gryffindor family secret," James boasted proudly, referring to his ancient family history.

"Brilliant," Ellie said in awe, all signs of sleepiness gone.

"That's just the tip of it," Sirius said. "Right this way."

As they continued down the passage, and Peter shut off his light, there were more golden letters, not in English, lining the walls, which lit their way as they passed, glowing brightly and then dimming as they left.

Rose walked along the walls and ran her hands along the letters, trying to read them.

"Fascinating," she muttered under her breath. As the rest of the group moved on, Lupin waited for her.

"I think it's some form of dwarvish, or possibly goblin. There are rumors that the construction of the castle was aided by both of those races," he stated, mentally cursing himself for sounding like a museum curator.

"Yeah, it says so in-"

 _"Hogwarts a History_ ," they both said together.

Rose smiled a little, but just looked closer at the walls.

"Well, so far, I haven't been able to decode anything, but..." He trailed off, lost in thought.

"I'd bet that Ellie would recognize some of these from divination. You don't have Ancient Runes, do you?" She asked, the rest of the group starting to move out of earshot.

"No."

"I'll bring my textbook next time. We can look through it," she suggested.

"Sounds perfect," he replied. They turned and talked about the other things that they had read about the school as they walked back to catch up to the others.

They came to a great oak door with iron fastenings.

"Ladies and gentlemen," James began. "I present to you..." He threw open the door.

"The personal office of Godric Gryffindor."

XXXXXXXXXXX

The room was large and circular, with tapestries of red and gold covering the walls and giving the room a wearm, hearty feeling. In absensce of a roof, a great dome made of iron bars looked out into open sky, showing the stars above, and although it was sprinkling outside, no rain fell through. There were two massive staircases, one on either side of the office that led up to a second floor balcony, overlooking the rest of the room.

The floor was covered in what looked like an ancient oriental rug, patterned with a lion in the center and other deadly magical beasts around it nearer to the walls.

In the center of the balcony was a great mirror, reflecting magically to somehow look through the walls at the Gryffindor common room, now,empty save a crackling fire, Rose's books in a neat stack next to her chair.

The floor of the balcony was covered with a huge mosaic of the Hogwarts seal, the animal figures that were part of the crest moving; the Gryffindor lion and snake of Slytherin looking very much like they were quarreling. There were bookshelves covering the walls on the entire second floor, stocked with ancient novels. There was also a large, round table holding what looked like a giant telescope and all kinds of old astronomical charts. The first floor held a few armchairs, several glass cases with weaponry and suits of armor, a large wall clock shaped like a sun, a coat rack, and an unmoving painting of a woman. Looking most recently moved was a large desk, on it, five cauldrons over heat, inside simmering teal liquid.

The room had an ancient feeling, like it had waited in silence for a very long time.

However old it was, there wasn't a speck of grime or dust anywhere.

"How'd you know it's really Godric's?" Rose asked, in awe.

"Family story says it has to be," James grinned.

"Where's that go?" Ellie asked, referring to a small door, off to the right side of the room, out of the way, practically invisible behind a golden banner of a lion.

"Personal chambers," Sirius dismissed. "Now, if we could have our resident potions expert have a look at what we've done so far," he prompted.

Rose put down the bag that she was carrying and walked up to the desk that had the potions on it, flipping through a book that sat open on the desk.

"Hmmm. So this is the base. And you're sure you have seven minutes before you have to add the moonlace?"

"On the dot," Remus replied, the wall clock showing seven minutes to two.

"There's only five cauldrons. Don't we each need our own?" Ellie asked nervously.

"Yeah, but Remus doesn't fancy dying painfully, so he's not going to do it," Peter supplied, using the answer his friends had given him earlier in the day.

Ellie looked like she wasn't about to settle with that, but Rose just dismissed it, rummaging through her bag for the moonlace. She handed a leaf to each of them, except for Remus. Then, she took the mandrake leaves from James, and handed those out too.

"Alright, take the mandrake leaf in your dominant hand. Put the moonlace in your other hand, and fold it longways with the ridges facing inwards. When that clock behind me hits two o'clock exactly, place the mandrake in your mouth, and then put the moonlace into your cauldron, still folded, with the open side facing down. It's important that we don't mix the cauldrons after this, because this is how we're tying the potion to ourselves. Don't swallow the mandrake. You'll have to keep it in your mouth for more than a month, from now until October 28th. Be careful not to lose it, or, well, things could get messy. And don't chew. It's not going to taste very good. Two minutes, now," she said, nervously glancing at the clock.

She went around and checked that everyone had it right. Peter's moonlace leaf was upside down, and he looked absolutely terrified when she pointed it out. Sirius had the large leaves in the wrong hands, but unlike Peter, he looked right into Rose's eyes and grinned, ready for the excitement.

Ellie looked nervous too, and gave Rose an 'I can't believe you let me do this' kind of look. In return, Rose just smiled anxiously.

James had taken the last cauldron in line. His preparation was fine, and he looked only the slightest bit anxious, more for the fact that he didn't know if he should trust her than anything else. He then must have realized that she could see all of that and smiled sheepishly.

Rose got back to her position, and double checked herself.

 _Good. Fine. Perfect. Ready._  
The clock read five seconds to two.

"Four, three, two, one...now."

Immediately, there was a simultaneous motion of a hand going to the mouth of all five teenagers. Followed by a perfectly synchronized dropping of leaves into a cauldron.  
They all looked at each other, and began to experience the sensation of the mandrake leaves in their mouths. They were large and thick leaves, and tasted like dirt, along with... Citronella, almost. _Blech_.

The cauldrons began to change colors.

Peter's faded into a dull brown. James' molded into something similar, a fawn shade. Sirius' turned a pitch black, looking murky and putrid. Ellie's turned another brown. Not deep enough to be bronze, but a rich shade of akin to James'. Rose's turned a chestnut hue, almost reddish.

She took a deep breath and unrolled her sleeves, pushing the now slightly smaller mandrake leaf into the corner of her mouth with her tongue.

"We're safe."

The words broke the moment of tension, releasing the breaths that everyone was holding. James and Sirius clapped each other on the backs and laughed along with Peter. Lupin had wandered over, and was talking to Rose and Ellie, pointing to each of the potions in turn, and discussing them.

"What's the color change mean?" Ellie asked, looking dubiously at Sirius' cauldron.

"It's the primary color of the animal we're changing into. It's the earliest possible indication of what that animal will be," Rose explained.

"What'd you reckon mine is?" Ellie asked, staring into the brown of her potion.

"I dunno. Never seen any animal that color," Remus replied.

"It looks to me like a squirrel," Sirius said.

"Oh, I hope not," Ellie replied. "I have an ungodly fear of squirrels."

"Then that probably won't be he animal that you're most closely related to," James soothed.

"What about mine?" Peter asked.

"Definitely squirrel," Sirius joked again, trying to help everyone ignore the anxiety that was slowly rising over what sort of animal they would turn out to be.

"You're the only one who'll end up a squirrel, if you keep that up," Rose replied.

"I wouldn't so much mind being something small," Peter replied, thoughtfully.

"James' and mine are hard too. Every other animal in the world is brown," Rose complained lightly.

"Hey, what about _mine_?" Sirius bothered, staring at his potion.

"Oh, that one's easy," Rose said. "The Grimm."

They all laughed his time at her mention of the black dog that supposedly was a death omen. Sirius pouted.

"At least I'm not going to end up something _pink_ ," he said, after a moment, slightly relieved.

After a little longer of talking and joking, they decided to break for the night.

James had a sudden thought.

"Aw, it's going to be hell trying to pull this over on McGonagall," he said. "She's already had to do it to become an animagus. And she's always on our case."

Peter promptly went white.

"Just pretend that it's Droobles Best Blowing Gum," Ellie suggested.

"And what about food? How're we supposed to eat?" Sirius complained.

"I don't care. Just don't lose it," Rose said. The brightest boys in her year should be able to figure something out. If not, then it was their fault.

"That hurts," Sirius replied.

"It will hurt more if you accidentally swallow it. Straight to the hospital wing, and maybe even St. Mungo's," she replied, packing up her materials.

"Noted," James replied.

"The next thing that we all have to do is at the end of the month. Until then, you have to stir it thirty times twice every day, at the same times of day, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. Doesn't matter when, as long as it's within the hour of the day prior's time. Clockwise for lefties, and counter-clockwise for righties, using your dominant hand," she instructed. "I'm goning to come down before lessons tomorrow, and then just before bed," she replied. Everyone else made a mental note to do the same.

"Can we go now? I'm tired, and we have a potions test tomorrow," Ellie asked.

"Oh, are you really that bored by our company?" James responded, with mock hurt.

"Yes." Ellie pouted, giving up, too sleepy to come up with a sarcastic answer. She did that when she was tired.

"Then let's go. We've got transfiguration first thing tomorrow," Rose said, leading the way out.  
XXXXXX

 _I really love the idea of Gryffindor having a chamber too, and I hope that it will end up being full of all kinds of other cool stuff too. I can't wait to write it. If you have any ideas about anything, let me know :) I'd love to hear anything that you have to say. Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _xxXX_

 _post editing: i just found out when pottermore released the bits on other common rooms that this is a really cool way to play with the house dorms and such, and that i was right to think of this this way way back when, which is pretty cool. I also fixed some spelling issuses and added a few new bits. Wooo. Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	4. Homework Help

James was absolutely right. Transfiguration was hell, even two weeks later.

Ellie could practically feel the eyes of Professor McGonagall tearing through her skull, sensing the mandrake leaf resting under her tongue. She could perfectly picture the interrogation that would follow.

Whether it was just her, or the other four too, it didn't matter. It all started as the room went silent. Professor McGonagall would turn around and purse her lips, just the way she always did, and it would all be over for them, their futures down the drain, their lives-

"Miss Claybourne. Miss Claybourne? I'm sure you're aware that class is over?"

"Huh-oh, yeah, absolutely, Professor. Just taking a moment to-erm collect my thoughts is all," Ellie supplied, while Rose began to pack up Ellie's things for her. She did that a lot. Couldn't stand to slow down enough to wait for her to do it herself. Rose walked out carrying both of their bags and Ellie caught up in the corridor.

"Finally lost it, have you?" Rose asked, forging the way ahead to Charms. "Or have you just got James Potter on your mind?" Her tone was lower, as the boys were right ahead of them. Ellie lifted her bag to hit Rose with, but she dodged and ran up to catch up with Sirius. Ellie followed begrudgingly, fixing up her hair subconsciously.

As she was walking from behind them, she noticed that they were talking quite closely, their hands almost touching. Sirius said something and she laughed softly and replied with something sarcastic in response.

James dropped back to lace his trainers, and was suddenly at Ellie's side. She stopped to wait for him, forcing a group of fourth year Hufflepuffs to move to the side of the corridor.

"Hi, didn't see you there," James said, looking up and grinning.

"Hey," Ellie replied. Some of the Hufflepuffs giggled. Ellie shot them a glare. One of them actually tripped because of it. James laughed and raised an eyebrow. Ellie just sighed. _It was one of those days._

"Your hedgehog looked quite like a pincushion in Transfiguration by the end of class," he complimented.

"Thanks. So did yours," she replied, even though she knew he must have been exaggerating her talent. Her transfiguration had been off lately, as she was distracted by McGonagall.

"It still squeaked when I tried to put a pin in it. A bit off-putting, if you ask me," he replied modestly, standing up, the rest of the group now a long way ahead.

"Definitely off-putting. I wish we had more time to practice though. I can never get the hang of it in only one try," Ellie complained, running her hand through her hair.

"Well, if you really think so, I know a place where we can work," James offered, as they neared Flitwick's classroom.

"I could always use a bit of practice," Ellie replied, stopping before they came into the room.

"Well then, meet me in the common room before dinner. I'll have to grab some hedgehogs from McGonagall, but that shouldn't be too hard. She loves me," James grinned.

"I'd love to," she accepted.

"Good. I'll meet you there," He grinned, turning on the spot to enter the classroom and join Sirius and Remus who were whispering.

Ellie followed him and pointedly avoided looking at Rose who was raising an eyebrow.

Charms went by quickly and without much fuss. Professor Flitwick was one of Ellie's absolute favorites, a short little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books just to be seen from the second row. Charms was her favorite subject too. It came quickly to her, mostly because it was what her mother was best at. They were learning hovering charms today, how to float heavy things a few inches above the ground. Something that she had been doing out of the cradle.

Next came Herbology, then Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies for Ellie, and Ancient Runes for Rose. Then lunch, where, unknowingly, they sat with the other girls from their dormitory for the last time. Following that was double potions, rounded off by Defense Against the Dark Arts. After class, Rose was on her way out to the grounds and their usual study spot when she noticed that Ellie wasn't following.

"Where're you headed?" She asked, Ellie standing dead in the center of the hallway, starting off in the other direction.

"Erm- well, I'm meeting James in the common room. He's going to help me with Transfiguration," she explained.

"Oh, well, okay, I guess. I'll just, be outside, I suppose, if you finish before dinner," Rose replied, clearly a bit upset that Ellie hadn't warned her, but trying to hide it because she knew that Ellie had a life outside of their friendship.

"Sounds good," Ellie replied, not noticing at all.

Rose left, leaving Ellie to her lesson.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The castle grounds were absolutely gorgeous at this time of year.

The sun was beginning to set earlier, but it wasn't bothering Rose yet, as she made her way to a tree on the grounds overlooking the lake to begin her homework.

The smell of the air, the smell of _autumn_ , was absolutely her favorite, and she took in several deep breaths before brushing some fallen leaves out of the way. The tree was large, probably many hundred years old, and was very tall, but perfect for climbing. She wasn't in the mood today, and besides that, she was in a skirt, so she simply sat down in her usual spot in the roots, almost a chair, made for her, that she always studied in.

She enjoyed the silence immensely, but it didn't last long.

"Mind if I join you?" It was Sirius again. And as much as she liked the peace, who could say no to that smile?

"Not at all," she answered, moving a notebook out of the way.

She always had many more notebooks with her than what was necessary for an ordinary student. She tended to write down any random ideas she had along with taking meticulous notes during classes.

Sirius worked on an essay next to her, for their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Clarkson, his quill scratching loudly against his roll of parchment. The tree trunk was wide enough that it easily let both of them fit on one side of it.

"I quite like this tree," Sirius remarked, settling into another nook in the roots. "Very comfortable."

"I'm out here every day that the weather cooperates," Rose replied, focusing on her essay.

"Be careful. That almost sounds like an invitation," Sirius challenged.

"Well, you're welcome any time. That is, if you ask Ellie, when she's here," Rose replied, not bothering to look up.

"You're awfully attached to her," Sirius noted, his tone careful.

"And you're awfully attached to James. But what's it to me?" She asked, still focused on her work.

"Well, I was just saying," he replied.

"What was it you were saying?" She requested, looking up for the first time, curiously, into his eyes. Telling him to be quick about it.

"Just that maybe-well, maybe it would be good for both of us to be a little... less, attached. Wouldn't you say?" He seemed nervous. She smiled and tried not to laugh at him.

"Yeah. I can agree to that. What did you have in mind?" She prompted.

"Next weekend is the first Hogsmeade trip. Would you care to dine with me?" His usual style of grandeur was finding its way back.

"What, d'you mean you aren't stuck in detention that day already?" She teased.

"Hey, even I have to have a few days off on occasion," he laughed, and she soon joined in.

"Ooo, be quiet. Here comes Dog," Rose quieted, referring to an owl that was coming towards them from over the lake. It was covering the distance quickly, though a large parcel was attached to its leg.

"Dog?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I really love them. Always wanted one when I was little. But when I turned eight, it wasn't a dog, but an owl. My dad wanted to name him Hammurabi and my mom thought I should call him Archimedes, but I picked Dog, because it reminded me of my favorite book, in which the horse was named 'Horse'," she replied simply.

"What's he have?" Sirius asked, curious.

"Probably just some gillyweed that I ordered. My cousin helps run the apothecary, and he sneaks me whatever I ask for when my parents aren't looking," she replied.

The handsome owl landed on her shoulder, dropped the letter in his beak, and held out a leg so that she could untie the parcel. Once it was off, he fluffed out his feathers and wrapped his wings up around him, almost giving the illusion that he had tucked himself up in a blanket, where only his head stuck out, round and fluffy, like a pigmy puff, with large yellow inset eyes. He also had a line running down the center of his face, and the black feathers around the outside of it that almost made it look like he was wearing the hood of a parka.

Rose was reading the letter and stroking the bird, while it hooted quietly and stared curiously at Sirius, almost asking who he could possibly be.

"What sort of owl is he?" Sirius asked. He hadn't seen one quite like Dog before.

"He's a Borean. From Norway," She responded. "I trained him not to come to the banquet hall when he brings me something against the rules."

She opened the parcel and took out a small jar of some kind of plant soaking in liquid, and two chocolate bars."The candy is from my grandmother," she explained, putting one of the bars into her bag to give to her brother. "Shall we split it?"

"And spoil our dinner? Here I thought you were respectable," Sirius replied.

"I _am_ respectable. Just not where chocolate's involved."

They split the candy and headed to dinner, where Peter was already waiting for them at their table, where both Rose and Sirius sat down.

Ellie and James took another ten minutes to appear. Ellie gave Rose a look, and it explained everything.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ellie didn't even make it back to the common room before James caught up to her.

"Oh, hello," she greeted, as he came around the corner, holding a cage with two small animals in it.

"We've got permission to use any of the old rooms on the first floor," James told her, leading the way.

She was nervous and excited, but most of all, just worried about getting her transfiguration grade up.

"Perfect," she agreed.

The room was far past the main staircase, in a hallway that was hardly used, only free of dust on the large teacher's desk, with loads of runes chalked up on the board.

Rose would know what they meant. She was probably studying them now, out on the grounds by their tree.

"Where's Sirius?" Ellie asked, curious as to where James' left hand was.

"Probably off chasing Rose," James replied, smiling. He knew his best friend well.

"Is he- is he _actually_ interested?" Ellie asked, concerned.

"Well, he's had his fair share of random whims, this is the most erm- _invested_ I've ever seen him," James replied. "What about her?"

Ellie just shrugged, not wanting to give away anything that her best friend wouldn't want her to.

"What about her?" Ellie asked.

"Just… She's hard to read is all," James paused, realizing Ellie's loyalty.

"Tell me about it. I never know what to think half the time," Ellie complained. "I tend to trip just trying to get caught up."

"Is that what's always happening?" James asked innocently. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Ha-ha. Very funny, but I do tend to do that without her help. It's perfectly natural. My mum wouldn't let me in the kitchen when I was little, after this one time when I cut off my pinky finger," she shared, holding up the finger in question.

"It looks all right," James inspected.

Ellie pointed out the scar. "That's just because of the healers. They fixed it up rather well. But now, I'm not even allowed _near_ the kitchen. Don't think my mom will ever let me cook."

He took a quivering hedgehog out of the box, and put a spell on it to keep it from moving.

"It's a bit easier to work on when they're sitting still," he explained. "Give it a try."

She spoke the incantation and waved her wand, but all that happened was that the hedgehog got a little softer, and started quivering more.

"That's not _bad_ ," James instructed. " _But_ your wrist isn't flicking nearly enough. Try again," he restored the small animal to its original form.

Ellie tried again and this time the creature changed a little more, the spines starting to turn silver and elongate.

"Better," James replied, nodding a little. "But still a little off. May I?" He reached out to adjust her wrist, and she nodded.

 _Calm down Ellie_ , she told herself. _It's just to help with your technique_.

"Like _this_ ," he finished, whispering. Sparks shot out of Ellie's wand, and there was suddenly a perfect pincushion sitting on the table in front of them, bright red and full of shiny pins.

"Excellent," he exclaimed, sounding a bit surprised.

"Well, I do have an extraordinary teacher," she replied, turning around and looking into his bright eyes, behind his square glasses, the ones he only remembered to wear half of the time.

"That you do," he smiled, breaking the moment by stepping away and tending to the pincushion.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I'm really dreading the OWLs," Ellie said gratefully.

"Don't mention it. And don't worry too much. You're going to pass, I can tell," he said, the small pincushion now sprouting legs, a nose, and eyes.

"I hope so. But that still won't be enough to stop me studying, though," she commented, packing up her bag.

"Really? Not even for a few hours? The first Hogsmeade trip is next weekend. I was hoping that you might join me," he invited, carefully picking up and petting the fully restored hedgehog.

"Well, I'll have to double check, but my schedule's free as far as I know," Ellie accepted.

"Good. I expect the Sirius' had the same idea," James replied, again missing his partner in crime.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, most likely. But I assure you, I've got something special in mind," James hinted, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

"Well, it certainly sounds interesting, but it's still a ways away, and we have homework. Have you started Clarkson's essay yet?"

"For defense against the dark arts? No. Can't be bothered to look up the official definition of a counter-jinx," he replied.  
"I've got it here, if you like," she offered.

XXx

They spent the rest of the time until dinner studying and trying to write their essays, failing miserably because neither of them could focus well enough to actually write anything. By the time they left for dinner, all James had done was cross out all of the rubbish that he'd written, using up more than half of the parchment.

Back in the great hall, they met Sirius, Peter and Rose, with whom exchanged a look with Ellie that nearly made her laugh.

As per usual, dinner magically appeared, and a few minutes into the soup, Ellie realized that someone was missing.

"Where's Remus?" She asked, trying not to make anyone angry by slurping her soup too loudly.

"Just feeling a little under the weather. Went to the hospital wing for a while," James replied, slurping his soup loudly to account for the sudden silence between Sirius and Peter.

"If you see him, let him know I hope he feels better soon," Ellie said, her kindhearted side showing, not noticing the wary way that the boys began to whisper again.

"We will," Peter assured.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _I'm having a lot of fun with this animagus thing, and I'm trying to keep it as canonical as I can, hence the whole mandrake leaf thing. I feel like cGonagall totally knows about their secret. As usual, let me know what you think :) Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _XXXx_

 _post edit: some minor fixes in this one, how did i get away with using 'said' so much the first time around? (Cringe) but the first movie just came on while i was editing this and it made me SO HAPPY OML but seriously, thanks for reading/reviewing!_


	5. An Overdramatic Sirius Black

The weekend came and went, along with Monday, with no interesting developments, besides the group beginning to grow a little closer through several more secret meetings to stir their potions. Remus was not yet back, and his absence was driving Rose nuts. She had thought that she had found some runes in her book that matched the ones on the walls of their secret passage, and she had wanted to tell him. This was, of course not the reason why she wasn't quite in a good mood during breakfast.  
"Just don't tell them," she was asking, practically begging, Ellie.  
"Don't tell us what?" James asked, sitting down across from them and helping himself to toast.  
"Don't." She warned Ellie, one last time.  
"Well," Ellie began, heeding no warning. "Today is Rose's birthday."  
"Happy Birthday!" Peter chorused.  
"We'd better wish her one properly," Sirius said to the rest of the group. Before anyone knew what was happening, the entire Gryffindor table was singing, and Rose was smiling and laughing along, still looking a little abashed, hiding her face.  
By then the owls were coming in, and there were several with special birthday deliveries. Her grandmother had sent her a pair of her great-grandmother's earrings. Her aunts had sent all kinds of enchanted powders and makeup and lotions and such that the boys seemed entirely bored with, although Ellie was practically foaming at the mouth. Her other grandparents had sent her a new Gryffindor scarf and socks that were handmade, knitted in gold and red. Her mother had sent her a few new sets of books, some of them even the muggle stories that she loved. Her dad had sent a box full of a brand new pair of dragon hide black leather boots that she practically screamed in delight when she saw. Her little brother walked over and delivered a hug and a small sneak-o-scope by hand, along with a new pair of gloves for broom-riding. He apologized for not wrapping them, but she didn't mind. Lastly came a package from her younger cousin who was a first year Hufflepuff, composed entirely of fifty pieces of her favorite candy, which she split with her friends along the way to Transfiguration in an effort to be on time, her bag bulging with all of her birthday presents. Ellie wouldn't give hers until later, as was their custom.  
"Attention, students," said James in a perfect impression of McGonagall, his glasses pushed to the end of his nose, and his lips pressed into a straight line. "Today, we are celebrating a very special birthday. Please feel obliged to sing," he led the chorus of voices, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, until half way through the song, when the real Professor McGonagall walked in, and James and Sirius finished singing by themselves.  
"Thank you for your public display of idiocy, Mr. Potter. I think you would be doing all of us a favor by taking your seat," she prompted.  
"Yes, Professor," James laughed, sitting down.  
It all happened again in Charms, this time, Professor Flitwick leading the students himself, standing and almost toppling over on his books, with red and gold sparks popping out the end of his wand as he conducted with it. Rose tried to look modestly bashful, but inside, she absolutely loved it.  
It started getting old as the song was sung by the Marauders (as she now knew they were called) around the grounds to all of her classes. Sirius even got Peeves to sing once. Although, he gave up bothering to ask Filch after he was threatened with a week's detention.  
By lunch, they had sort of given up, and managed only to weakly hum it a few times as they ate. Herbology was another unfortunate miss, as they were working with fully grown mandrakes and were all required to wear ear protection.  
But, they were back in full swing by the time potions came around, as James and Sirius stood on desks and sang in renewed vigor, purposely trying to annoy the Slytherins who they were sharing class with. Slughorn, however, rather missed the moment of birthday spirit, and walked in to find James and Sirius standing on top of his lesson syllabus, holding out the very last note in a rather offensive pitch.  
"You two. I've had nearly enough," he said, pointing a finger at the duo, as they suddenly muted. "Yes, I have had quite enough of your foolish wand-waving, and silly incantations! Quite enough, indeed!" His anger was out of character. Perhaps it was because he had just realized that he had misplaced some ingredients from his stores. Then again, perhaps he had just remembered wrong and had used them up. Old age was coming for him fast, no doubt about it.  
James and Sirius slowly hopped off the desk, and were about to sit down in their seats, when Slughorn stopped them. The Slytherins began to snicker.  
"No, I should think you won't have the pleasure of one another's company from this point on. Miss Claybourne? I would like to kindly ask that you please Join Mr. Potter in the back row. Mr. Black. Please Join Miss Bennett in the front," he watched as the students shuffled by and made room for their new seats, until he was satisfied.  
"That's quite good enough, thank you. These will be your seats for the remainder of the year. Instructions are on the board. Please note that this is a topic that has been known to appear on your O.W.L. examinations in the spring. You may begin when you're ready," Slughorn finished, going back to his desk to search for possibly mislaid ingredients.

The new seats were perfectly fine with all parties involved. Except for one. James and Ellie were getting along well, their potions set to boiling already. Remus and Peter were close to that as well. But not Sirius. On her own, Rose could have easily completed the Draught of Peace that they were assigned to make. Hell, with her experience, she could do it with one eye closed and one arm tied behind her back, and still be ahead of the rest of the class. But Sirius was a different story. He was clumsy enough to drop things in too early or too late. He was irresponsible enough to cut up ingredients badly, or just plain not put things in. He was careless enough to not worry about fixing his mistakes until the opportunities to right themselves were missed. In short, it was a mess, and before five minutes had passed, their potion had overflowed, all over the pair of them, covering them with a sticky orange goo that smelled very strongly of sandalwood. They were immediately forced to leave and get themselves cleaned up.  
"Sorry," Sirius said sheepishly, as they made their way back up to Gryffindor tower to find a change of clothes.  
"It's alright. I don't much mind. That was a basic potion to make. It's not like I'm missing much by ditching and having a bath," she said.  
"Am I invited too?" Sirius asked, seriously. Rose laughed, and swatted at him.  
"No. Not until after I stop smelling like someone poured a bottle of cologne over my head," she replied.  
"Fair enough," Sirius replied.  
"Sandalwood gardens," Rose said, the password to get into the tower. The painting of the Fat Lady swung aside.  
"How fitting," Sirius murmured. He headed up to the boy's dorms.  
After Rose grabbed what she needed, she went to the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor to rinse off, taking her time to try to get rid of the smell, and clean off her clothes. And she could take as long as she needed. It was, after all, her birthday, and Slughorn had dismissed her for the rest of the afternoon. She opened her favorite faucets and filled the pool with hot water and bubbles, in shades of bright blue and green, and went in for a soak, not coming out for nearly an hour. When she did leave, it was more because she had gotten bored than anything else. Maybe you should've invited Sirius, she joked with herself.  
Once she had dried and gotten her clothes back on, she headed back to Gryffindor tower, where Sirius was, in fact, waiting for her, sitting on the sofa and reading the book that she had left there that morning.  
"Hello, dear," he said, closing the novel and giving her a smile. He looked fresher, somehow, and his hair, which was on the shorter side of long, was ruffled messily and still a bit wet.  
"Hello," she replied, sitting down next to him. "Resorted to stealing again?" She asked, gesturing to the gold bound book that was in his hands.  
"I was just... Waiting. It is a good story. Although, these muggles are quite strange," he said.  
"How far did you get?" She asked, taking the book in her own hands and paging through.  
"A few stories in. This Holmes fellow's quite good, isn't he?" Sirius asked, referring to the famous detective that the collection was about.  
"Yeah. He was. Doesn't even need magic to get along. Resourceful and clever enough to work it out himself," she replied.  
"I quite liked that. Although his friend, Dr. Watson, is a bit average, I think," Sirius said.  
"Ah, but that's only because he's more human. He's supposed to be relatable to the reader. Because Sherlock's as smart as anything, but is as human as a brick wall. The ideal person, of course, would be between the two," she replied. Sirius nodded in understanding.  
"What was your favorite mystery?" Sirius asked.  
"The Speckled Band," Rose responded. "And you?"  
"I liked the Man with the Twisted Lip," he answered.  
"That's more than just a few stories in," she accused.  
"You were gone a long time," he shrugged. She leaned against him and gently put her head on his shoulder, her heart beating so loudly that she almost couldn't hear anything else.  
"I'm sorry again about today," he said, his tone soft. She opened her mouth to say that it wasn't his fault, but he quieted her. "No, listen. I'd like to make it up to you. It's your birthday, and I'd like to treat you to dinner. Will you come with me?" He asked, looking down, the grey eyes meeting the hazel.  
"I'd be glad to," she replied.  
"Are you hungry?" He asked. She lifted her head and nodded.  
"Then let's go," he stood, offering Rose a hand, which she took. Sirius pulled her along the corridors, carefully going past classes that were in session, and then through a tapestry and down a slowly sloping spiral staircase. They ended up somewhere that must have been near the great hall, but not past the main doors, instead in a long passage, occupied almost entirely on one side by a giant painting of a fruit bowl.  
"Here we are," Sirius said, coming up to a stop before the painting. He reached up, and tickled the pear, which giggled, as the painting swiveled forward and opened to reveal an amazing sight.  
It was the Hogwarts kitchen, bustling and busy with house elves working to prepare dinner and puddings.  
One of them stopped as Sirius led Rose through the portrait hole.  
"Master Sirius!" A small elf squeaked. "Lovely to see you!"  
"And you, Nori. How are you today?" Sirius asked, good-naturedly.  
"Excellent, Mr. Black! What can we help you with?" The elf squeaked back.  
"Well, I've messed up rather badly, and gotten Miss Bennett's birthday ruined in the process. D'you think you could help me?" Sirius asked the elf, and two more that had come along to hear what he had to say.  
"Yes, Sir! Absolutely, Sir! We'd be glad to!" Nori squeaked, sending the other elves off to do something.  
"Thank you," Sirius said.  
They had to wait for a moment for anything to happen, and they used that moment to take in the enormous sight of the kitchen. With what was needed to feed all of the students and staff, there was a large army of house elves, doing every task imaginable to get prepared. Almost all of them were using magic, levitating trays of things into ovens, rolling out dough, even washing dishes.  
But what was even more amazing was the fact that every single one of them looked incredibly happy. They all smiled and seemed to genuinely enjoy their work, even though it was that of a servant.  
When Rose remarked to one of them how amazing the operation was, the tiny elf had practically hit her head on the floor bowing.  
"Thank you, Madam! So pleased to have pleased you Madam!"  
Many of them were even humming softly to themselves, several different tunes, making the kitchen air feel like it was abuzz with its own life.  
"Right this way, Sir!" The elf said, as the other two reappeared with him.  
Sirius took Rose's hand, and led her into the back of the kitchen, to what must have once been some kind of small private dining room, perhaps for one of the founders, or the headmaster. It hosted one small table, set for two.  
"Your dinner will be served shortly!" The small elf said, pouring butterbeer out of a bottle and into their fancy glasses. As he passed Sirius, he stood on tiptoe and whispered something into his ear. Sirius nodded in reply.  
Rose sent a look that asked what was going on.  
Sirius replied with one that said to just wait and see.  
Nori left with a cheery skip to the kitchen door.  
"You knew that all this was here?" Rose asked, still in wonder of the scene.  
"Not all of it. But I knew that the house elves would be able to help me. It's what they live for," he commented.  
"They quite like you," she replied.  
"They love all of the students, and working here from what I've heard. They all get what they want and they enjoy making people happy," Sirius said.  
"Dinner is served!" Squeaked a voice, coming in from the door. Following him were four elves carrying dishes of all kinds of delicious looking food. They placed them on the table and left again. "Let us know if you'll be needing anything, Sir and Madam!" The little elf squeaked.  
"Thank you, Nori." Rose replied.  
He bowed low and began to exit the room. "We are glad to help!" He replied, shutting the door once again behind him.  
"This food is so good," Rose replied, a few minutes later, already, regrettably, starting to feel full.  
"I know. They really are miracles, this lot. Entirely opposite the wretch I've got at home," Sirius replied. Rose didn't want to ask about the elf that Sirius must have had.  
They finished after quite some time and quite some conversation.  
No sooner had they put their forks down than the elves were back to clear everything away.  
Another group came in a moment later, carrying a bright blue iced cake, that said "Happy 16th Birthday!" In green icing, along with little tiny cauldrons around the outside.  
"Sirius! This is absolutely gorgeous!" She exclaimed, seeing the cake in all of her favorite colors, with her favorite subject on it. Seventeen (sixteen and one for good luck) candles were magically lit on top of the cake, and there was a small crowd of elves watching the scene.  
"Don't thank me," he replied, gesturing to Nori.  
"Anything to help!" Nori exclaimed.  
"I think that I've sung to you enough times today," Sirius said to her. He was right. She was sick of that stupid song.  
"Make your wish," Sirius told her, softly.  
She closed her eyes thoughtfully and opened them again to blow out the candles. The house elves all cheered. She had done it in one breath. Good luck, or a wish granted.  
The cake was the most delicious thing that she had ever tasted.  
"Rose?" Sirius asked, after a few minutes.  
"Yeah?" she replied, licking her silver fork.  
"I have a bit of a confession to make," he said. "I messed up the potion on purpose. I-I wanted to give you something for your birthday, but I didn't have enough time to buy anything. I didn't think that you would skip with me so I-"  
"Next time," Rose interrupted. "Just ask."  
They leaned in and a kiss began, something that both of them had been itching to do since that night at the forbidden forest, maybe longer. He could taste the sweet icing on her soft lips. The feeling made him so incredibly happy, that she was with him. She could hardly believe that she was kissing Sirius Black, the boy who had walked right out of her dreams, even if he did still smell like sandalwood. She could feel his happiness, and her own, colliding where their lips met. And they split apart, savoring that happiness, not wanting to hurt it in an attempt to go faster.  
"Shall we head back up to Gryffindor tower?" He asked.  
"Perfect." She replied.

It was in their posture, in the way they moved, the way that they suddenly were always close enough to be touching.  
Even Ellie noticed that there was a difference.  
They were waiting for the rest of their friends in the common room, reading separate books, but still leaning up against each other, her copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in his hand, now nearly finished. She was reading one of her new books, still clean, with straight edges and a solid spine. She looked like she would have been purring if she was a cat.  
"How's the birthday girl?" James asked.  
"She's doing quite well," Rose replied. "No thanks to your singing."  
"Aw, bite me," James replied.  
"It's alright, I liked it," Sirius said. "At least the first fifty times."  
"And to think I only got threatened with two detentions. Well worth the cost," James said.  
The boys all laughed and began their own work elsewhere.  
"How was dinner?" Rose asked Ellie, not bothering to close her book.  
"Good. But where-"  
"Later."  
-

 _Fun fact: I started writing this for a friend of mine, and a lot of the names and personalities are based on people I know._ _Feel free to review with any thoughts! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_


	6. Kiss and Tell

Later turned out to be that night, after the potions had been stirred and the rest of the girls in the dorm had fallen asleep.

Ellie sat on Rose's bed and braided her hair in a fancy knot, just for the sake of giving her hands something to do while Rose talked. It was just about the only thing that Ellie could do to stop herself from interrupting. Because she really, really wanted to hear the story. The other girls, tragically wouldn't have the chance to. There was a silencing charm keeping them from hearing, even if they weren't already asleep. But, it was really lovely tale. And it was building. Ellie could tell that the plot was thickening, that it was all rising to a boiling point, how it turned out that Sirius had set the whole evening up, action still slowly rising, waiting for the climax...

"... And then, he _kissed_ me, Ellie. It was perfect. The best dinner I've ever had."

"He kissed you?!" Ellie squealed, shocked.

"Yeah," Rose replied, like it was no big deal. Liar.

"Rose! Was that your first kiss?" Ellie asked, already knowing the answer.

"And it was a damn good one," Rose replied, still feeling the excited flutter when she thought of him. She giggled. The only person who she ever did that in front of was Ellie.

"Well, what was it like?!" Ellie asked, deeply curious.

"It was..." She trailed off, looking for the right words. It took her a good minute, whilst Ellie moved, and Rose flopped down, laying down on her back and looking at the canopy.

"Satisfying, I suppose. But at the same time, too short. It felt... I dunno, comfortable, almost. It's weird to describe something like that." She had finished talking, letting her thoughts wander around more.

"Would you kiss him again?" Ellie asked, hanging on to every word.

"Yeah." Rose answered,like she was lost in dreams, but Ellie knew a little better than that.

It wasn't dreams, it was worry. They both knew that boys could be... Boys. What if it was more than a kiss next time? Sirius Black did have a bit of a reputation. Well, much more than just a bit, actually.

"Yeah, I would definitely do that again," Rose said, seeming to come back to the present. "It was just so romantic, Ellie, you would love it. And hell, I'm just gland he's not really that bad at potions. I can't imagine going a whole year with that," Rose finished, smiling.

"Well, I doubt that anything that _I_ can do will top the day that you've had, but you still haven't gotten my present," Ellie prompted, turning the conversation back towards the gift.

Rose grinned. She and Ellie had been exchanging gifts for years. She had already received several necklaces, books, clothes, scarves, and even a ring with her name in it. Their multi-annual gift exchange was something that both of them adored, and would surely bring something amazing. Ellie was clearly anticipating this moment as well. She looked anxious as she handed Rose a square wrapped package about the right size to fit in her lap.

Rose raised an eyebrow. It felt like a book.

She tore open the paper.

It _was_ a book.

A large scrapbook, made of a rich red leather, maybe even dragonhide.

Inside, were dozens and dozens of photographs, all moving and smiling and waving, of Rose and Ellie, and their families and some of Rose and her other friends. Also present were ticket stubs from when they had snuck in to the muggle tube, or gone to watch muggle movies, and from the time that they hitched a ride on the knight bus. There was a whole section of concert tickets from shows that they had already seen together, as well as ribbons from junior broom-racing competitions, tickets to all three world cups they'd been to, and old postcards that they had sent each other (even though they lived across the street). There were also several plants, beautiful flowers pressed flat between the pages, accompanied by strongly smelling herbs that made the book feel all the more magical.

"Oh _Merlin_ ," Rose breathed, absolutely amazed beyond any reason.

"Do you like it?" Ellie asked, nervously.

Rose continued to page through it.

"Ellie, I don't even know what to say," Rose complimented.

She got to the back, where there was a letter written by Ellie stuck into one of the pages, followed by a good section of empty ones.

It read:

 _Hey, Rose.  
I really had to think this year about what to get you. Really, really had to think. Because, you've already got it all. Good looks, talent, smarts, everything. Well, maybe except for your singing voice. That could still use a little work. Hey, I'm just kidding. Point is, I'm absolutely the luckiest person I know, because I have you. So I thought that it would be a nice idea to give you this book, just sort of to commemorate the journey so far. And then I left some pages blank. (Yes, that was on purpose. I'm not that lazy.) Those are for all the new adventures to come. I hope you had a good birthday.  
Your best friend,  
Ellie._

Normally, the gift exchange was enough to practically bring one of them to tears, but this time, both of them, (and perhaps this was because it was so late at night) were practically bawling.

Rose hugged Ellie, and they stayed that way for awhile, feeling the comfort of having someone who really, truly understood them.

Someone warm and safe and there no matter what. Their friendship had been put to the test time and time again, but they had come through.

And they still would.

Eventually, Ellie wandered back over to her bed, one to the left, just past the window, socks making a quiet noise on the cold floor.

She tucked herself in.

"G'night Roo," she said, already half asleep.

"G'night Els," came the reply, already too soft to hear.

Their eyes closed to the light of the full moon coming through the window, the night still and peaceful and quiet.

Neither of them were awake for the howl that followed.

XXXXXX

 _This is a short chapter, but I really enjoyed writing the friendship between Rose and Ellie. Also, I'm looking for some names to use, so if you'd like me to use yours or one you like, just let me know (as well as whether you'd like them to be a good person or a horrible one). Thanks for reading, and Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _XXxxx_

 _post edit: heyo here's the next edit yo. I like this chapter. It reminds me of my friends. Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	7. I Hate You, Oliver

One of the perks of being in the Slug Club were the dinners at least twice a month. Or so called perks at least.

What the dinners really entailed was sitting and listening to Slughorn dote on each of the students in turn. Rose didn't so much mind, but she knew that Ellie could hardly sit still for that long.

 _Remember_ , she would tell herself, _this opens up opportunities._ She would much rather be back up in Gryffindor tower, lounging with a good book and talking to Ellie. Or Sirius. Or all of her friends.

Instead, she was graced by the company of none other than Oliver Tray.

 _Dear old Oliver._

She bit back a snarl. Short black hair, _raven_ , an artist would call it. Sparky green eyes. A Ravenclaw through and through. Their year, even. And for some reason always trying to out-do her. He was, in fact, what one might call an arch rival. Forget Severus Snape who was only extraordinary in potions, and had a little too much knowledge of the dark arts. Oliver Tray was miraculous in every class and was popular as well. He was in the corner now, talking to his friends and throwing charmed glances in her direction.

She stiffened. Ellie, sitting beside her and talking to another Gryffindor noticed. She looked behind her at Oliver, and gave a pitying glance.

Professor Slughorn called for attention and announced dinner. They all moved to sit down at the large table to eat. Rose sat down, on her left, Ellie, and next to Ellie, James. Sirius was too criminal to be invited to such events. Rose cringed as Oliver sat down on her right.

"Evening," he said cooly, his bright smile too false for her liking.

"Evening," was her icy reply.

"Lovely dinner," he commented.

"If you like that sort of thing," she responded dully, trying to stop him bothering her.

"Oh, I do." He replied, serving himself with a grin.

"I can see that," she said, watching the look in his eye that said that he thought he knew everything about her.

"...also wanted to announce this year's official Halloween Party. Invitations will be distributed over the course of this week," Slughorn announced, taking a break from eating his steak to break the news.

Ellie glanced at James, wondering if he would ask her to go.

"What will the theme be this year, Sir?" Asked Oliver, just as Rose was opening her mouth to ask the same question. She closed it abruptly and tried not to glare.

"Good question Oliver! Professor Dumbledore has actually given me the idea for the theme himself, I was just speaking to him over dinner yesterday," Slughorn emphasized even _this_ connection. "The theme of this year's Halloween Party will be 'Masquerade'. Isn't that absolutely classic?" There were several enthusiastic responses from everyone around the table. Ellie and Rose were grinning, already planning their outfits. Rose decided that she would have to bring Sirius as her date, or there wasn't much chance that he would be allowed to go.

She then realized that her little brother, Nolan, didn't have any dress robes. She turned to where he usually sat, but was surprised to find the tall chair empty.

"Hey, Ellie, did you see where Nate went off to?" She asked, not quite worried but still just a bit concerned. He had been coming to these meetings since first year, because of the family, but was receiving extra attention lately because of his star performance as the seeker of the Gryffindor quiddich team. People said that even though he was only a third year, he was the best seeker since Kendrick Creevy, who had gone on to play for the Chudley Cannons after graduation.

Ellie looked around for Nate.

"Nope. But Loo's gone too," Ellie said, calling her sister by her pet name. She too was a quiddich player for the house team, although she was a chaser, like James.

"I wonder where they went," Rose questioned, rising to leave. Anyway, she'd finished eating and they had to get back at a decent time to try and practice charms for homework.

"Oh, you don't know?" Oliver quipped in mock surprise, interrupting their conversation.

"Know what?" Ellie asked, confused.

"Oh, just your siblings," he shrugged, turning away, as if to talk to his friends.

"Tell me what you know about my brother," Rose said, tone frighteningly quiet and even, trying her hardest to try not to take out her wand and hex him on the spot.

"Easy, dear," he cooed, smiling.

"No, she's right. You might want to start telling us already. She's liable to start hexing people when they delay giving her information," Ellie supported.

He didn't skip a stride.

"Well, I just assumed that you already knew," he smirked. "I mean, I only walk into them snogging five times a day."

"What do you mean, snogging?" Ellie asked, surprised.

"And a bit more than that, if you know what I mean," he raised an eyebrow and did his best to look mischievous.

Now it was Ellie who looked like she was going to start cursing things. Rose noticed her cue.

"Well, thank you for enlightening us, Oliver," she spat, speaking his name like she was spitting out bubotuber pus. She turned to their host.

"Professor Slughorn, Dinner was lovely. Thank you so much for inviting us, Sir. I hate to leave so early, but we've just got to get to the library before it closes," Rose said, gesturing for Ellie to gather her things faster.

"Of course ladies! Thank you for attending! Have a lovely weekend," he said, dismissing them.

"And you, Sir," Rose chorused, halfway out the door with Ellie just on her heels. Oliver raised his hand in mock salute and smirked some more. She resisted the urge to stick out her tongue, and she saw James give him a wary glance, as if wondering if he would have to deal with him for the rest of the evening.

Out in the corridor, Ellie regained her voice.

"Do you think-"

"Yes, it is, unfortunately very probable that he was telling the truth. The times that they've been sneaking out all fit. So does the fact that they always get back from quiddich practice twenty minutes later than James. Although, I must admit, I doubt that they would do anything more than kiss," she stated.

"I can't believe we didn't see this sooner," Ellie said. "I'm a bit cross that she hasn't said anything."

"Mmh hmm," Rose agreed, not really paying attention to that. She was smiling.

"What? What do you think then, Missy?"

"Me? Well, not to argue with you, but I'm just impressed that he's managed to actually get a girl to like him," Rose said, being brutally honest.

Ellie couldn't help but break her angry mood.

"Well, I'm just surprised is all, I suppose. Lynn hasn't even looked at a boy before," she laughed.

"Not what I've heard," Rose said, smiling slyly.

"What? Really?" Ellie asked.

"We happen to be good friends too you know," Rose replied indignantly.

"And?"

"She's had several dozen crushes, as far as I know," Rose dismissed.

"Really?!" Ellie asked, a little shocked.

"Yeah," Rose raised her eyebrows.

They walked a little ways farther back to Gryffindor tower in silence.

"You know what?" Ellie asked as they were climbing up the moving staircases.

"What?" Rose asked.

"I'm not even mad. I'm rather pleased for her, actually," Ellie grinned.

"Well, what do you want to do now? We're probably going to walk into Gryffindor tower to them together, you know," Rose warned.

"Well, let's just go for a stroll then," Ellie said, not wanting to make a scene.

"You go ahead. I've got other plans," Rose replied, as Ellie turned towards the library.

"Okay. I'll see you later," Ellie compromised.

Rose made her way back to Gryffindor tower alone, and opened the portrait hole to find a full common room full of students studying and playing gobstones and wizard's chess, including Peter and Remus with Sirius watching. Remus had come back the previous day looking tired and still a bit sick. He looked much better today though. She nodded in greeting and sat down next to Sirius.

"Were you going to tell me?" She asked, gesturing to her brother and best friend's sister who were siting together in the corner of the room.

"He asked me not to," Sirius admitted.

"Well, it's about time you chose a side," she said, as the couple they were watching leaned in towards each other. She took her wand out of her back pocket and gestured for him to do the same.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she whispered. Together, with the help of Sirius, the pair who were about to kiss were lifted into the air. Lynn started giggling, but Nate didn't see the humor. They dropped to the ground.

"Ha-ha William. So funn-"

He stopped dead when he saw who was behind it.

"Not William. Guess again," Rose smirked.

"I-"

"Save it for mom and dad. I don't want to hear it."

"No, Roo, listen-"

"All I want to know is why you didn't tell me sooner," she replied, as he stood up to talk to her, Lynn looking a little nervous at his side.

"Well just because I wasn't advertising-"

"I don't care. Next time, tell me. Or better yet, don't let there be a next time," she broke her tough routine and smiled.

"Congratulations on your biggest mistake so far, Lynn. Try not to break his heart before the opening match against Slytherin," she grinned and went back to try her hand at chess, leaving the pair of them.

"Well, I guess that counts as a blessing," Lynn said. Nate grinned.

"I suppose it does."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _As you might have guessed, we really do hate Oliver. (Thanks for the name, friend). I actually love the name oliver a lot. Thanks for reading/reviewing! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: so this is really a great opportunity to apologize how awful this piece is and to take a moment to thank heavens that i have drastically improved my writing skills since then. Thanks for still reading and reviewing despite the fact that this is a huge mess._


	8. How to Save a Life

The potions were coming along perfectly.

Until Sirius very nearly died.

Rose had just finished her own mixing when she had heard him clear his throat. She could tell something was wrong just by the tone of it.

"Rose?" His voice was nervous, something that he almost never portrayed before.

 _Oh, no._ She'd thought. _Here we go._

"What happened?" She asked, rushing over.

"I-erm, well, I got _sidetracked_ -" His potion had gone from the deep black to an ugly yellow and was paling by the second. His face was turning greener too, his skin clammy, the way he moved making it apparent that he was very lightheaded.

The others who had been stirring turned to see what all the fuss was about.

" _Focus_ , you lot," she barked at the others.

They snapped back to attention. She turned back to Sirius who was fluffing his hair in anxiety. "And?!"

"I stirred it the wrong way," he confessed, voice shaking with nerves. Unless he was getting worse, and the jitters were from the potion. He collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Don't panic, I can fix it," she assured, running over to a stack of books on the end of the desk and opening one up, while she tied up her hair with the other hand. She rolled up her sleeves and rushed back over.

"How many did you do the wrong way?" she asked insistently, still flipping through the book.

"All of them. All thirty," he replied, skin starting to turn paler, and dark circles forming under his eyes, where the typical deep grey was shadowing and clouding over with cataracts forming.

"Alright, hand me that," She grabbed the vial that James picked up for her with shaking hands and started to work.

It took hours.

Xx

They had all stayed and watched, even though they didn't have to, for a long time after the panic began, until she sent them away.

She had gotten rid of her school robes which had begun to get bleached by the steam coming out of the cauldron, leaving them ruined and in a heap on the floor. Her hair was a mess, falling out of the hasty ponytail. Her blazer was torn where it had caught on the side of the handle of the cauldron. Her wrist ached, and the mandrake leaf that was still sitting in her mouth was more irritating than it had ever been before. Sweat was dripping down her face and she wiped it off to make sure it didn't end up back in the cauldron. The potion had gone from yellow, to green, to olive and almost brown, and was now close to being back to its original black. She was stirring feverishly, just starting to slow down from many hours worth of work.

There were half-empty and barely used vials of potion ingredients, (some that Remus and Ellie had had to retrieve that very evening from the apothecary and potion master's stores) all over the desk, spilling out their contents as she took pinches from various places and put them in carefully. Sirius was also doing better, sitting off to the side to give her more space.

"Sirius?" She asked.

"What do you need?" He asked, rising, still just a little bit shaky.

"In my pocket, on the right side, there's a couple of tea leaves. Can you get them for me?"

He walked over, and because of the impossible position that she was in, leaning over the cauldron, he had to get incredibly close to her to get the ingredients she needed. He reached over and she could feel his warmth.

 _Focus_ , she told herself, muttering the dozens of things that she still needed to do under her breath.

"Here."

He put the small, green leaves on the counter.

"Thanks," she smiled, a little nervously.

She worked for what felt like another eternity, until the full black color was restored to the potion, perhaps even sleeker than it had been before.

Practically collapsing when she was finally done, she left the simmering cauldron to turn around and fall into Sirius' waiting arms.

"Whoa there. You okay?" He asked. She smiled up at him weakly.

"Peachy. Just do me a favor," she requested.

"Anything," he promised earnestly.

She closed her eyes.

"Never do that again." She leaned in and he held her close to his chest. She could feel his soft laugh, and his strength that she had brought back. His heart beating clearly.

She had done it.

She had saved him.

Xxxxxx

 _SO, I am totally into Sirius being all gentlemanly and adorable because of his gentlemen upbringing, but don't worry, there's some less gentleman Sirius coming along. Also, so many different opinions on Peter. I'd like to know what you guys think of the little rat. Let me know! Thanks for reading/reviewing, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: i need to add some more sassy sirius in here somewhere. Hopefully soon. Spoiler a little here, but im thanking everything that i found a legit way to get rid of Peter. But anyway. Thanks for hanging on and reading my horrible writing!_


	9. Into the Woods

Rose had only gotten into bed at six in the morning, and she was not in the mood to go into Hogsmeade, especially after falling asleep into her porridge at breakfast. That was okay with Sirius who was just glad to not be dead, and to have someone who would be able to keep him that way.

And that left Ellie and James.

They set out first thing, giving their passes to Filch as they left the castle grounds, joining other Gryffindor s on the long walk to the village. Once they got there, they went into the small stores, like Honeyduke's and Zonko's to shop. They bought several bags of practical jokes, including a new product called dung bombs, that released a terrible smell, which they cleverly planned on using to clear out the common room if there was ever an emergency and they needed to get to the secret passage. They bought new quills and ink, to make up for what Rose had used to pay of Peeves, and James sampled a pair of socks that were quidditch themed.  
"Oh, Rose would absolutely love this necklace," Ellie commented, finding one with a tiny geographically correct globe painted inside of a hollow glass sphere. It was breathtaking.

"Maybe I should buy it for Sirius to give to her as a 'thank you for saving my ass' gift," he joked.

Ellie laughed.

"That's not a bad idea, except for the fact that she's allergic to silver. Wear that necklace and she's be the one whose ass would need saving," Ellie remarked. The necklace ended up costing too much, so they left it behind.

"What about you? Allergic to anything?" James asked, making a stab at conversation.

"Nope. How about you?"

"I've got a horrible problem with trees. Makes quidditch practice hell in the spring," he complained lightly.

"I can imagine. You're the captain this year, right? What do you think our odds are of taking the House Championship?"

"Pretty good. Slytherin lost all of their good players," James replied. They launched into a detailed conversation about quidditch that I won't bother to write, though it can be assured that it was more than enough to sustain them until around lunch time (which was only a half hour away) when they made their way to The Three Broomsticks where they sat together in a corner.

They had just finished their drinks, and James was playing with his hair as he always did, ruffling it up to be even messier, which somehow suited him. Ellie had just realized that she was awkwardly staring and was about to look away, when she noticed James was staring a bit too.

"Hey! What're you looking at?" She accused.

"Something pretty," he replied. "Come on. I have something to show you, and it's gonna take a little while to get there."

He took her by the hand and led her out of the crowded shop and down into the cobblestoned street, dodging carts and students that were walking slowly in flocks. Ellie had to focus entirely on not tripping over her feet, so she didn't notice as they made it to the edge of the village limits until they stepped off the road.

Here, the path was thinner and made of dirt, and it led off into a light wood.

James led down the path and off into the woods. The pair continued to talk, now away from the crowds and feeling more comfortable about their conversation, discussing what they thought their animagi would end up being, what they thought the rest of the process would entail.

The woods were gorgeous this time of year, the leaves turning, and the light filtering through the branches in a golden flow. Birds sang in the trees and flew low over their heads, a few of them were owls heading to the owlery or the school.

The pair came to a clearing at the edge of a cliff, a small one, that looked off into a valley. The sun was beginning to set, and they sat, barely touching on a rock above the overlook.

"This is gorgeous. How'd you find it? No, wait. Let me guess. An old family secret," she guessed, watching the sun slowly sink.  
He laughed and ruffled his hair again.

"Nope. Sirius and I found it. First year," he mused.

"The first Hogsmeade trip isn't until third year. Nice try," she replied.

"Ah, very perceptive. But I think that you know that the normal rules don't apply to us."

"No, you're right. They're just made so you can break them," she replied.

He laughed again, and she couldn't help but smile. His mirth was contagious.

"Nah, that's just Sirius. I tag along for the fun of it," James replied.

"And this? Staying out after curfew? How do you plan on getting away with that?"

"Just an old Gryffindor family secret," he smirked. The last rays of sun floated over the horizon and darkness began to take their place. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

She was the one giggling now.

As they crept through the forest after dark, Ellie couldn't help but be somewhat jumpy. Every shadow looked like something looming out of the fog to get her. Every crack of a branch underfoot was something ready to eat her alive. She wanted to light up her wand, but knew she would be in trouble for using magic outside of school.

James must have realized that she was worried and took her hand. She felt the warmth and immediately forgot to be afraid of the dark, instead, transfixed by his slight touch, the warmth of his large hands, the callouses from many hours on a broomstick.

"Hang in there. We're almost back," he said, his voice breaking the eerie silence.

"Thanks," she replied gratefully.

They made their way back through the empty, dark town, wearing the invisibility cloak and back to the castle through a secret passage through the basement of Honeyduke's.

Even though the darkness stopped with the lights in the window at the Hog's Head Inn at the edge of town, they still held hands all the way back through the castle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx

The day was a quiet one, Rose nodding off in her arm chair and not being woken until dinner by Sirius. She spent the rest of the day trying to level her massive stack of homework and mostly succeeding, even getting a chance to sit down on the sofa with Lupin and talk about runes.

Sirius saw what they were doing, lost interest, and resorted to levitating furniture that had first-years in it.

After the third or fourth bench of eleven year olds went flying and ink had fallen onto the rug at least twice, Rose put a stop to it.

"Sirius, come on. You're going to get into trouble," she told him, complaining softly.

"I'm _bored_ though," he complained, letting the chair he had up spin in slow circles.

"Well, then, get ahead on your homework," she suggested.

"That'll just make me more bored," he replied, lazily letting the seat drop.

"Well, you know what they say. _'If you're bored, then you're boring'_ ," she replied.

"Quite right. Which is why you must help to kill my boredom, so I am not assumed to be a typical, mundane human being," he flopped down next to her on the couch and put his head on her shoulder.

"Well, how about a masquerade. On Halloween night. With me. Does that interest you at all?"

He perked up.

"What color robes should I wear?"

"Not so bored any more, are we?" She teased, amused by his sudden alertness.

"You tend to make things interesting," he replied, smiling at her.

"Well, since you're now less bored, I am going to kill the romantic moment and finish these runes with Remus. Give me ten minutes," she instructed.

He pouted.

"I'll be back in eight," he replied, going to Join Peter for a game of Gobstones.

"It won't even take that long for Peter to beat you," Rose replied, referring to Peter's unnatural talent with the game. Peter smiled happily.

"So sorry," Rose said, turning back to Remus.

"No, you actually handled that pretty well considering how Sirius _normally_ acts," he replied almost with an accidentally dark undertone, flipping through the book. They attempted to puzzle through a few more runes.

"What about James and Ellie?" Rose asked, looking around the common room and noticing students begin to trickle back in from the village as the sky grew dark.

"He had plans. They'll be back before long," he dismissed, unconcerned.

Rose was more than a little bit ticked off. After all, she had already done her half of their charms project and she was waiting on Ellie's return to do the rest. Also, she was out, outside of castle grounds, after dark. That could be dangerous. And with James Potter? If anyone would be sneaking out of grounds with Ellie, Rose had assumed that it would have been herself.

She shrugged it aside, worried that it wasn't her place to be thinking such things.

"Reckon he'll ask her to the ball?" She asked, after comparing a rune from the tunnel to one from an ancient goblin text.

"He likes to take his time. Probably, though," Remus replied.

"That's what I thought. I'd arrange for you and Peter to get invited too, but he said he didn't want to go, and you'll be sick," she explained as Remus froze. She continued working, showing no sign that she had said anything terribly wrong.

"Excuse me?" Remus asked, after a minute, trying to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about.

"I know, Remus. I'm not stupid," she said, glancing up sideways from her paper. He sighed and started to show his internal panic a little.

"Did Sirius tell you?" He asked, ready to flagrantly abuse his prefect privileges and give his friend a detention.

"No. I've known for almost a year now. Don't worry."

He sighed again.

"I always worry," he replied, his eyes looking tired in the firelight.

"And that's not a bad thing. You need to, sometimes. But right now you don't. You're perfectly safe here, with us. Your secret's hidden with me," she replied, carefully, but with confidence.

"That's not what I'm worried about. You, and Sirius, and Ellie and James, and Peter, you're all whole. But I'm..."

"What we are is your friends, whatever that means. And it's not going to change. We'll be there for you, no matter what you are on occasion. Now stop looking so down. Here come James and Ellie," she was right, the pair entered the room, dropping hands as they did so.

Ellie came in and sat down next to her. Lupin excused himself to finish studying for a defense against the dark arts practical that was coming up. Sirius went with him, and James followed suit. That left Peter, sitting in the corner and toiling with an essay.

Rose realized how exhausted she was, and how damaged her sleep schedule had become, and said an early good night to Ellie, leaving her alone to finish their charms project, still grinning and humming quietly to herself after her first real day with James.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Writing is hard sometimes AGHHH. Anyways,_ _Feel free to review with any thoughts! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: STILL TRUE IT IS SO HARD SOMETIMES but okay other times i guess. Thanks for putting up with this, once again._


	10. Sisters at Arms

As Ellie sat in potions, she couldn't even pay attention. Her eyes kept threatening to close, and it wasn't until they were told to go make Draught of Insanity that she realized she hadn't listened to anything Slughorn had said in the last twenty minutes. She walked over to the cauldron closest to Rose's, which happened to be right across from her. Sirius was out for the day, making some kind of mischief, and James was back minding their cauldron.

Rose had already started the potion and was swiftly completing each of the steps. She finally looked up to see Ellie unceremoniously throwing the wrong ingredients into the cauldron, which was expelling some kind of blue smoke.

"You didn't get enough sleep last night," Rose accused casually, as she continued to stir.

"I feel well rested," Ellie argued.

"Your draught of insanity disagrees. I think you've managed to make poison out of it," Rose replied.

"Which I could give to a questionable looking stalker," Ellie said matter-of-factly, as the potion began turning an ugly brown color.

"Or drink it yourself mistaken for pumpkin juice; the more likely scenario." Rose replied, dead serious, which caused both girls to let out a short laugh. "So you never said, how was last night?"

"It was ok, I guess," Ellie's face lit up at the memory of the previous day's Hogsmeade visit spent with James, a smile immediately on her face.

"Yeah, it was _just_ ok," Rose repeated, picking up on Ellie's sudden change in mood.

She went back to work, tactfully sprinkling in the powdered moonstone and turning her own potion a pleasant turquoise blue.

"Absolutely _perfect_ , Miss Bennett!" The professor exclaimed. "I've never seen such an exquisite Draught of Insanity!"

"Thank you, Sir," Rose accepted.

"Maybe you could lend Miss Claybourne your notes tonight, seeing as I expect a six-hundred word essay on my desk on the draught of insanity from her tomorrow, following the catastrophy in her cauldron. I'll have to destroy it, as I feel that it may combust," he said waving his wand apologetically and vanishing the foul liquid, before continuing to circle the room.

Rose looked over at Ellie who, at this point, was minutes away from completely falling asleep. Rose used a flask to scoop out her potion, labeled it with her and Ellie's names, and placed it on Slughorn's desk.

"You are all dismissed."

The moment the words left his mouth, Ellie was halfway out the door on her way to the dorm to try and squeeze in an hour's worth of rest before dinner.

Turning around she looked at Rose.

"Well, looks like I have an essay to write. I'll see you in the great hall," she said beginning to walk away.

"Els, I put your name on my potion, you don't have to write anything," Rose called down the now empty hallway.

"I need to get my grade up anyways," she lied in response.

Rose smiled, knowing Ellie's true intentions for the next hour walking off to the library to check out a book about dragons.

Ellie felt much better after the hour was up and her nap was complete. She was about to make her way out of the dorm, when she ran into her sister, Lynn, for the first time since she found out about her relationship with Nate.

"Hey, are you going down to the dining hall?" Ellie asked.

"Not today. I actually made plans with a friend," Lynn responded, as the pair continued down the stairs towards the common room.

"Is that friend a boy? Maybe with the name Nathan Bennett?" Ellie asked, suggesting the truth, stopping Lynn abruptly.

"Did Rose tell you?" Lynn questioned.

"Didn't have to. I was lucky enough to hear it straight from the ugly mouth of Oliver Tray," Ellie accused.

Lynn only nodded, her gaze leaving the floor to meet Ellie's.

"I was going to tell you, I promise, I just… Wanted to figure out where it was going first," she replied, using a light voice that made Ellie feel bad for her choice of tone.

"Listen, I like Nate, I really do, but is snogging him the only way of 'figuring it out'?" Ellie knew she'd hit a nerve by the fierce look in Lynn's eye.

"Who are you to talk?" Lynn responded. "Don't think I don't know about James!"

Ellie froze; wishing for nothing more than for Rose to walk in and put an end to the conversation.

"There's nothing _to_ know," she explained, even though the words didn't sound right. "We're just friends."

"So staying out past curfew is something's you do with a lot of guys? And, you totally missed my first trip to Hogsmeade," Lynn accused.

This time it was Ellie who couldn't speak, so her sister did.

"Listen, I'm older now, and I need you to trust me, okay?"

"I do," Ellie replied honestly. "But no more secrets."

"No more secrets," she promised.  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Creds for help in this chapter go to a friend who has a little sister just like Lynn._ _Feel free to review with any thoughts! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: OK so this chapter is way shorter than i thought it was? Idk, i think i'm goint to try keeping them a more uniform length in the future so yeah. Thanks for reading and reviweing!_


	11. Something More (But I Still Hate Oliver)

This was the third time this week that Ellie had blown off Rose to hang out with James.

At least she _assumed_ that was where she was. Ellie hadn't even bothered to say what she was planning to do with their afternoon off, just sort of assumed that she would want to be alone with Sirius. But she didn't, really, just wanting to relax with Ellie and get some work done.

And considering that her best friend had never done this before, Rose was left to assume that this was all James' fault. Or he was at least partially to blame.

Which did _not_ improve her attitude.

He had started to seem a little too good to be true. Did he really like Ellie, or was he just playing? Did he deserve her? Would he make some stupid mistake or take some stupid risk that would get her hurt? Would he break her heart? It seemed like all of these things were making a very new and much less attractive picture of James Potter in her head. Someone who she should trust under no circumstances, yet was forced to include in almost every secret. It was stressful.

Rose had been planning to choose costumes for the masquerade which was now only a week away, but with no Ellie, she was forced to actually do schoolwork, something that the teachers seemed particularly keen on giving them since the OWL exams loomed so near on the horizon. She was nestled in the nook of her favorite tree once again, bright Gryffindor scarf wrapped tightly to avoid the cold that was growing worse each coming day.

"Finished that charms essay yet? _Although_ , I suppose you can just worm your way around doing it by sucking up to the teacher," called someone from behind the tree.

"Afternoon, Oliver. Got the guts to come around and face me, or planing on keeping the conversation through the tree?" She replied, not even bothering to look up.

"In fact," Oliver continued, ignoring her. "You're quite clever around all of the professors. I'd even go as far as calling it manipulative. _Charming_ , even. Are you sure that you weren't meant to be Slytherin?"

"That's quite rich, coming from you Oliver. Killed any first years in your sacrifices to satan lately? I hear good grades are _quite_ expensive nowadays. Two or three souls at least," she contemplated, not bothering to watch him as he came around the side of the tree, hands in his pockets, dark hair neatly combed.

" _Four_ actually. But I've been getting a good deal from a friend of mine," he replied absentmindedly, watching something flying across the lake.

Then he noticed the dress designs that were on one of the pages of her many notebooks, drawn in enchanted ink that let the models spin in place and walk, the fabrics of the painted dresses shimmering as the printed figures moved. Another page showed a matching set of dress robes, for the male partner, all with masks that were decorated beautifully.

"Who'd you think's going to want to go with you to the dance? A house elf?" Oliver asked rudely, meaning no jest, only insult.

"Well, I, unlike you, am not an insolent arse, and I haven't had any trouble finding a date," she replied, smirking. "I doubt Marielle Midgen would even go with you. Even she has some sort of standards, though they must be low, considering the length of her skirt. I heard her say she'd rather date a muggle, in fact," she said, somehow knowing that associating him with the most sultry girl in the year, a Ravenclaw who was obsessed with Muggle Studies, would make him even angrier.

"How hard is it to cast the Imperius curse? I suppose that's the only way you could ever get someone to agree to go with you without them committing suicide at the thought," he smirked, thinking he would hit a nerve. She had stood up by now, and had discretely pulled out her wand, which now was pointed at him.

"Would you like me to show you? Or would you prefer that you learned that trick from a master?Like your dear old dad," she challenged, not because she was angry, but because she loved a good fight, and knew she could easily take him.

Oliver's father had been a follower of the most powerful dark wizard ever, Gellert Grindelwald, and even though his mother had left him and brought Oliver with her, it was still a sore subject for him, while his old man rotted away in Azkaban. He raised his wand and pointed it towards her.

"Ha. At least I haven't-"

"Got any manners? Yes, you haven't even bothered to say hello. Not to mention nosing through other people's notes and insulting the best Imperius curse I've ever seen," complimented a voice that dropped down from the tree.

"Sirius-" Rose turned, protesting.

"Hush dear, the curse was completely unnecessary. I would have come without complaint if you had simply asked," he grinned, sweeping around behind her and pulling her in close with a spin. She couldn't help but laugh. Oliver looked a bit shocked, eyes wide.

"And really, I truly think I dress a bit too nicely to be a house elf. You might want to get your eyes checked," Sirius said to Oliver. "I do believe that you're the house elf looking one. Or at least based on the abnormally large nose you have that seems to keep getting into everyone else's business."

"I only meant-" Oliver stuttered.

"To insult my absolutely perfect girlfriend, I know. Now why don't you run along and find some first years to sacrifice to the devil? I'm sure your arithmacy grade could use some improvement," he finished.

The pair turned around and headed back to their side of the tree that she had left her things at, and she breathed a sigh of frustration. Oliver was hurrying back to the castle.

"You couldn't let me get one good hex in?" She asked.

"You'll thank me when you don't have to sit in detention all weekend," he replied knowingly.

"How long were you in that tree?" She asked curiously.

"Not long. I was about to come down when he showed up," he shrugged.

"Taken a liking to my tree, have you?" She asked, looking up at the few leaves that remained.

"It really is quite comfortable," he said, sliding a hand around her waist and moving closer.

"And you saw my dress designs?" She asked, breaking away to grab the notebooks that had been scattered.

"I must say, I'm very impressed. And you're making both of our costumes?" He asked, watching the model man that bore a certain resemblance to him as it moved along the paper, spinning to show off the dress robes.

"I'll need a bit of help. Maybe that house elf, Nori," she responded, again lost in her own thoughts. They both sat down at the base of the tree.

"And I'm not good enough?" He questioned.

"I saw you trying to mend your socks last month. I wouldn't let you near a needle and thread any time sooner than the end of the world," she replied.

"That hurts!" He laughed.

"The ego, or the needle-pricked fingers?" She teased.

"Both." He reached to her over the notebook and brushed a stray piece of her hair away.

"Sirius... Were you serious when you said I was your girlfriend?" She was quite solemn and her voice had dropped to a quieter tone.

"Only if you want me to have been," he replied, carefully.

"Well, then I suppose you're officially unavailable," she said smiling a little.

"Exactly how I was hoping to be," he responded.

His eyes were a stormy grey, made bright by the afternoon sunlight, his gaze intense and deep. She was leaning towards him, almost without realizing, drawn in, until their lips were nearly touching. She turned her head a little and felt as he moved forward, pressing the two of them together, carefully, softly, but still deeply enough to be satisfying. They were interrupted by a bell signaling the end of their free session, and pulled apart reluctantly. He helped her gather her belongings and stuff them hurriedly into their bags as they rushed back into the castle and up several floors, showing up only a few minutesi late for their next class.

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _LOVE THis chapter! Oliver and Sirius? HECK YES. IM also super pumped for the ball. (OH and PS, I'm American, so if you ever see me using the wrong lingo, let me know) Thanks loves, Feel free to review with any thoughts! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: yo when i finish editing i can start posting a bit of the new bits ( no promises as i havent gone too far yet) bur that will be nice, i think. Thanks again for reading and reviewing and dealing with all the issues._


	12. All Hallows Eve

By Halloween, rumors had spread like wildfire about the pair of them. Just that they were together of course, seeing as she was known too well as a good girl for any other whispers.

Although, the day before Oliver Tray had been given a _lovely_ bat bogey hex for spreading something around that was less innocent.

And Ellie Claybourne was just getting out of the detention for doing it, as the rest of the school was finishing dinner.

The great hall's many candles that typically lit the sky were Jack-O-Lanterns, and live bats flew in swarms above the students. The ceiling which was enchanted to show the true sky outside was a murky and deep blue, just after sunset, and a full moon hung wrapped in the clouds like a crystal ball in the hands of a seer.

Even the teachers looked a little festive, though Professor Dumbledore had left early, and Professor Slughorn hadn't bothered to show up, presumably to set up for the night's event.

She sat down at the table and served herself, just as the rest of the meal before them vanished, leaving her with a plate full of chicken and pasta, as desserts filled the rest of the table, all fall themed, and immediately filling the room with the smell of baked pumpkin spice and cinnamon.

She was thrilled that she could finally eat without being forced to hold the mandrake root in her cheek, as they had taken it out two or three days earlier, but could hardly touch her food because she was so nervous for the masquerade.

Remus had left the day before, claiming sickness again, and not having returned yet, his absence leaving the table somewhat quiet.  
Ellie hurried through her dinner and ignored the delicacies, finishing before Rose was even halfway through her pumpkin roll.

"I'm almost done, just _hold on_ ," Rose called, pulling Ellie back into her seat as she nearly left without her.

The pair left the boys back at their table and rushed up to their dormitory to get ready.

"Ellie, you need to calm down. You're going to faint if you keep forgetting to breathe," Rose reminded as they closed their door and locked it behind them. The other girls had already sworn to get ready with their friends in other years and dorms, so it was perfectly private.

"I just _love_ this sort of thing," Ellie gushed, anxious and excited. "I want _everything_ to go right."

"As if _I_ didn't know that. But look, everything will be fine. Just because James didn't ask you to go with him doesn't mean he won't want to dance. And listen, I've heard it from Sirius time and again, he _will_ ask you," Rose assured, changing out her earrings.

She had been understandably annoyed when James hadn't bothered to ask Ellie, although he _clearly_ should have. Ellie didn't mind though. She wasn't even sure that she wanted so much as that dance.

"I am just _so_ excited," Ellie squealed, using a spell she knew to straighten her hair by wrapping the thick curls it around her wand, then letting them fall without their signature corkscrew.

"Can you get the back for me?" She asked Rose, who was brushing her own and pulling it up in several swirls, using black diamond tipped pins.

"Yeah. Stand still," Rose demanded, using the same spell to do the part of Ellie's hair that she couldn't reach.

"I don't know if I _can_ ," Ellie apologized, bouncing up and down in place.

"Then I'll just have to petrify you. _Stand_. _Still_ ," Rose replied, nearly burning the hem of her bathrobe with the wand straightening iron spell.

"There," Ellie replied, finishing with the front of her former curls, golden locks that now looked sleek and shiny as she moved and the light glinted off of them.

"Oh, Rose, will you let me do your makeup? _Please_?"

"Well, considering I have no idea what I'm doing, fine. But keep it simple. And make sure it matches the dress," Rose requested, referring to the now practically famous dress that half of the school was waiting to see.

It was hanging in her wardrobe now, looking lonely without its accompanying male counterpart, which had been given discretely to Sirius that morning.

"I was going to make it match the dress anyway," Ellie rolled her eyes, taking her favorite brushes out of her trunk and placing them on the shelf near the chair that Rose was waiting patiently on.

Ellie worked her magic, quite literally, as she used her wand to do some parts of the makeup. Rose was already wearing her mask, and by the time the subtle yet elegant work was done, it looked like it was made for her (which it coincidentally was; she had made that part of their costumes too).

Ellie used the large mirror in the dorm to do her own makeup, dark to compliment her blonde hair, thick black eyeliner to make her look dangerous and to match her dress and mask, which were the familiar Gryffindor scarlet.

It was a thin dress, something that only a girl like Ellie could pull off, black with side stripes made of leather, the red used to highlight the differences in fabric. The top part of the dress was tight fitting, with no straps, the inside also the red shade. The fabric stayed beautifully tight fitting until just above where the skirt touched the floor, where it spread out, forming a slight pool around her feet that followed her as she walked. She also wore dragon hide leather gloves with the fingers cut out, red lipstick, and tall, black heels. The whole ensemble made her look mysterious, almost wicked, and was definitely not something that a good girl would have worn.

She knew that most girls (Rose included) would be wearing dresses with large, puffy, medieval style skirts, but she had seen this one in Diagon Alley, and fallen in love with it. She didn't really care about what everyone else was wearing when it came to the dances. With a final move to pull back her hair and apply her mask, (which was made of black with a red leather underside), Ellie was finished, and she noticed that Rose was done too, and had been for some time. Rose was waiting patiently in a chair by the door, but when she noticed Ellie had concluded, she stood and twirled to show off the way her dress moved as she spun.

"Well? How do I look?" The dress was just as extraordinary as everyone was hoping it would be, and Ellie said so.

"Really, truly amazing."

"Well, still not as gorgeous as you. Cripes, if James Potter hadn't noticed you enough before, this will be like a slap in the face for him," she responded.

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, I think that Sirius will be in for a treat. Are you ready to meet him?" Ellie asked, opening the door to the hallway.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Rose replied, grinning and leading the way down to the common room to meet her datemand the many students waiting to see her infamous dress design.

Xx

The effect was immediate. The room waiting below silenced itself better than any charm could have, and every Gryffindor in the room looked up as though spell struck. Ellie had been forced to go down first, naturally, and there were more than a few whistles from the crowd ad she made her descent, trying desperately not to trip. James was at the front of the group that was going stag, and Ellie involuntarily made eye contact with him while taking the last few stairs. His hair was fluffed up to its finest, and his crimson and black dress robes almost perfectly complimented her dress, somehow. When he first saw her, his jaw didn't drop as she had hoped it might, but the small twitch of a surprised smile that he gave from under his mask was more than enough of a reaction.

She was followed by what was easily the most gorgeous dress of the evening, worn perfectly by her best friend. It was in a ballerina style, the top a corset like piece and the bottom a toile skirt, the two blending with perfect tact. The top part of the dress was patterned by a twinkling mass of stars and sky, a perfect capture of the all hallows eve that was moving above them outside.

Just like the ceiling of the great hall, it was enchanted to show the real time view of the sky outside, now a nest of stars, still with the full moon shining through interwoven clouds. The dress fit her lithe form perfectly, making her look like some sort of cloud nymph or sprite, the pins twinkling darkly in her hair, and the mask showing the eastern sky perfectly to suit the lines of her eyes and the curve of her face. She wore red lipstick, a bright contrast to the rest of the dress, and tall, black heels, with ribbons going up the rest of her leg to follow the ballerina style of the ensemble.

As she practically floated down the stairs, the crowd parted to let Sirius through. His hair was combed nicely, and cut a bit more neatly. His dress robes were black, with the hems and cuffs along with the inside of the robes matching the sky of the dress. Not much, just enough to remind everyone that they were together, that he was hers for the evening.  
He reached out a hand, and she accepted, as he kissed it like a proper gentlemen, then put his hand around her waist, leading the line to begin the Gryffindor escort to the ball.

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 _This story is so much more than I thought it was going to be, but I really like how far its going! I'm still just writing it for a friend, but putting it on here makes it easier to share. Let me know if you like what you read by reviewing! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: this chapter was excellent fun to write, and i didnt even mind editing it much. Progress. Thanks anyway for reading and reviewing!_


	13. Belle of the Ball

On the way, one of the first year Gryffindors managed to catch up to them and was firing questions rapidly at the pair. She was one of Rose's friends, someone who she had known from a very young age, because their fathers worked in the same department in the ministry for a while. The girl was a head or two shorter than Rose, and only about second year, wearing a yellow dress that brought out the tan in her face from what was left of summer vacation, along with a very patriotic Gryffindor lion mask.

"The pair of you look really lovely!" The girl complimented, her own mask just barely too big, making her look even more sprite-like than she already was.

"Thank you Karin," Rose replied smoothly, even though she knew what this would mean. Her parents would soon find out about her relationship. Well, at least she could go for tonight without having to worry about a howler.

They arrived at the dance a few minutes behind Ellie and the other girls from their dorm.

The potions room was decorated aptly, the jars holding ingredients served as lighting around the shelves of the room, where loads of pickled things always sat in store. The lab benches students typically worked at were gone, replaced by only a few small tables and chairs, leaving room for a large dance floor made of marble, lit by a wrought iron chandelier of candles, suspended high above, much farther up than usual, due to the magically magnified ceiling height. Students of all years from the Slug Club had been invited, as well as all seventh years, and the room was dotted with all sorts of colors and styles of clothing. Typically, for balls, everyone wore dress robes, but for this masquerade, the dress code was brilliantly varied. Costumes ranged from the glamours that Rose and Ellie were wearing to one sixth year who had transfigured his face to look like a werewolf. It made Rose's stomach turn, as she watched the sixth year howl for show.

Meanwhile, Professor Slughorn absolutely gushing over her dress.

"My dear!" He gasped. "You simply must consider going into the design industry! I have had several students who-"

Then he seemed to notice who she was on the arm of.

"Good heavens! Mr. Black, I was not expecting to see you here!" He then proceeded to notice the way their masks and costumes matched, and couldn't find the words to say, simply ungracefully excusing himself. Rose laughed a bit to his back.

"Well, we certainly surprised him," Sirius laughed, bemused.

"Yes, but not Dumbledore. Look." He followed the nod of her head to where Slughorn was speaking with the headmaster, looking dejected, and surprised. They spoke for another minute, while Dumbledore looked smug, and the potions master handed him a small bag of galleons.

"He bet that we would come to the dance together, I'd reckon," she told Sirius.

"Well, then I suppose we should start to actually dance." Sirius replied, pulling Rose into the crowd, and beginning their first of what would become many slow dances of the night.

Xx

Holding her in his arms gave him an immortal strength. Somehow, he didn't even have to think of the dancing, the part that had always given him so much trouble as a child, taking lessons to somehow honor a family tradition. He'd been miserable and though he was a natural, he'd hated every moment of it, feeling very much like a princess or a ballerina. He blamed the whole thing on the fact that his mother had no daughters like his cousins who could be dressed up like china dolls and paraded around.

But tonight was different. Tonight was all Rose, her sweet perfume laced in his breath and her warm hand carefully in his. All he had was her, in his arms, the quiet, clever, mysterious smile that she held behind her mask.

The first dance had been a waltz, long and steady, and as they danced magnificently. Other couples made way for them, as they paraded around the floor, stopping to admire their costumes and masks, to guess at the handsome couple that was behind them.

But each of them was perfectly content with the other, her green and brown eyes contrasting his sharp grey ones starkly, as they never broke contact.

The music grew more dramatic, as the waltz drew near to its end, and Sirius spun Rose a few times to show off her dress. He ended with a dip that made her laugh out loud in delight, the audience that had stopped to watch them, including Professor McGonagall, applauding the dancers. There were several more similar songs, until the maestro of the orchestra elegantly began to transition into another type of music.

The next song was slow, a couple's dance that caused the floor to suddenly empty. Sirius took Rose's hand, and pulled her carefully to the center, where he put the his other hand on her waist, and she put hers around his, pulling them together closely enough together to raise Professor Sprout's eyebrows.

They whispered to each other quietly as they swayed to the soft rhythm, their hands entwined and raised, her head resting softly on his chest, talking about things that reminded them of each other.

She was now familiar with the feeling, his steady strength, his heartbeat in her ear, how she could just fall into him and he would hold her up perfectly.

She didn't want to stop their slow motion when the song ended suddenly, and the band struck up something popular and too loud and too fast.

But she did, and tore herself away from Sirius long enough to ask him to bring back some punch for the pair of them while she caught her breath and looked for Ellie, who was not, coincidentally the person who she found.

"I see you're having a _lovely_ evening, Oliver," she lightly taunted. She had watched his date leave without him, only twenty minutes in.

"Oh, _yes_. It _has_ been. Because I've made an important discovery," he claimed, nastily, angry at her for bringing up his failed date.

"Oh?" She inquired, mockingly, not caring what he was apparently so pleased about.

"You're up to something, Rose Bennett. With the Marauders. And I intend to find out what. Now are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to find out for myself?" His tone was intimidating, something that suited his sharp and clever features.

" _Well_ ," she pretended to hesitate. "I suppose I _should_ tell you." She looked around at the people near them suspiciously, and leaned in towards him a bit.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked, seriously.

He knew that he wouldn't be keeping this one, but could sense when a little bit of lying would be useful.

"Yes. Of course I can."

She leaned in even closer, just so that he would be able to hear her over the party.

"Well, so can _I_. Hope you enjoy the rest of the ball, Ollie-pop," she replied, annoying him not only by tricking him, but by calling him by the pet name that she somehow had learned only his grandmother called him by. He stormed out in a huff, leaving the party all together.

"Managed to start another fan club, I see," Sirius commented, coming back with two cups of punch.

"If you had as many friends as I do, you would know my struggle," she replied, finally finding Ellie, on the dance floor with James.

She let out a sigh of relief, and turned back towards Sirius.

"Sorry it took so long, I was busy spiking the punch with fire whiskey while McGonagall wasn't looking," he replied, taking a thoughtful sip.

"Are ours-"

"No. But don't get any more unless you feel like getting drunk," he teased with a smile.

"Wonderful. It seems that Professor Flitwick is helping himself to a glass now. What do you say we step out for some fresh air?"

"Perfect timing," he agreed.

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 _Lots of important things coming in the next couple of chapters! I sometimes throw in references to other fandoms and stuff, so if you think its just a coincidence, its probably not one. Thanks for reading, and feel free to review or reach out to me if you have any ideas! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: okay, so i have no idea what above reference was, and i know i put one in but i don't think that its still in there and i have no idea what it is, or if it is in fact still there. Can you tell that I'm kind of a mess? Thanks for reading and reviewing anyways!_


	14. The Best Kind of Mistake

A while earlier, James had finally asked the question. Not in a typical way, though; in the special way that James Potter did everything, a perfectly balanced mixture of cute and cocky.

"You look far too pretty tonight to be dancing alone, dear," he complimented, coming up behind her, and sweeping her onto the dance floor without permission.

She of course was practically tripping over her own feet, although she was a much more graceful dancer than Rose gave her credit for. That being said, she did have to keep looking at her shoes to stop from accidentally kicking her partner. James kept the dancing slow and careful, totally unlike what Sirius had done, and what he was capable of doing. They occupied their own little corner, and no one bothered to come near, save for the chaperones that circled like vultures, occasionally grouping together and talking under their breath.

They continued to dance slowly, no matter how the music changed, and they eventually changed positions until his hands rested on her waist and hers were around his neck.

Ellie didn't seem nervous to him, even if she was really worried enough to faint.

They spoke quietly like that for awhile, until a popular song came on and the floor was flooded by people who wanted to dance.

They were pushed almost directly into the arms of Professor Flitwick, who had now had several glasses of punch, and could hardly stand.

"Oh! Mr. Potter! Deepest apologies. I seem to have somehow been confunded!"

"'S alright Professor," James replied, curious as to why the small professor was even more tipsy than usual. Just overexcited, he decided.

They walked over to a bench and began to people watch, while James poured the two of them punch. The bottom of her trumpet skirt had floated magically a few inches above the ground as she danced. Now, it dropped down in a graceful circle as she sat.

He came back with two glasses that were filled to the brim.

She took one without paying attention.

"There's Lynn," she pointed, now intently watching one couple, whose costumes were a matching royal blue.

"With Nate Bennett?"

"Uh huh."

"Yeah. I've had to split them up in the team room a few times after practice before," he commented, taking a sip of his punch, and promptly spitting it out.

Ellie opened her mouth to ask exactly why they needed splitting up, when James interrupted her by coughing.

"Dear Lord, Sirius!" he choked.

"Are you okay?!" Ellie exclaimed, alarmed, narrowly avoiding getting punch on her dress.

He swallowed.

"He spiked the punch. _Do not_ drink it," he warned, his eyes squinting and watering against his will. She laughed at him and he joined her the minute he could talk without sputtering.

"I'm sorry," Ellie replied, still laughing, which only caused the two of them to laugh all the harder.

"Don't be," he replied, once their uproar had subsided to a few innocent giggles. "You have a beautiful laugh. Especially when you're laughing at my misfortune," he teased.

"And that sentence was going so well," she sighed dramatically, making him grin.

"Was it? I'm still a bit busy choking to death on some firewhiskey-infused punch, if that's okay with you," he joked, making her break her false disappointment in favor for another grin.

"It's not okay with me, actually. No dying without my permission," she demanded lightly.

The music started to get slow again, and Ellie debated going to dance, but decided against asking him. Her heels were just as uncomfortable as they looked.

"Hi, James."

A girl walked up to the bench in front of the pair of them. She was tall and envyingly thin, with long, silky straight hair, as black as night. Her costume was black and emerald, bringing out the green flecks in her eyes, and the mesmerizing glow of her heels that were almost as thin as the stem of a wineglass.

Vanessa Riddle, Slytherin.

It took a lot for Ellie to hate someone. In fact, out of every single human being on the planet, she only truly hated about three. And Vanessa was at the top of the list.

In general, she was just an absolutely rude person, mean for the sake of being mean, along with her best friends (who had since graduated), the sisters Narcissa and Bellatrix Black, who were coincidentally Sirius' cousins. Their group of five girls, simply known as The Witches to anyone who dared talk about them, were hated by the teachers, and yet somehow commanded respect from all of their fellow students. Rumors had spread near and far about how many dark spells they had learned from their parents, how both of Kyla's were imprisoned in Azakaban for torturing muggles to death, and Clarissa's mother ran a part of the black market on dark artifacts. Rumors about them warned that you had to do what they said, when they said to do it. Or else.

Ellie had little experience in their affairs because Rose, quite frankly, scared them off. In fact, Rose had dueled with Bellatrix in second year, and had very nearly gotten expelled for standing on top of the Slytherin house breakfast table, and winning the duel by cursing off part of her opponent's ear (which had been healed perfectly back to normal, thank you very much). The duel had been started when Bellatrix had refused to stop calling a first year a whore, and then Vanessa had publicly embarassed Ellie. Rose had never met the small Ravenclaw, Pandora, before, but had gotten sick and tired of how The Witches treated people, and had snapped and knocked Vanessa out, before Bellatrix had responded whith what may well have been a Cruciatus curse, which burned a hole through Rose's school robes, resulting in Bellatrix's loss of an ear. After that, teachers interveined, and all order was restored to the world; the witches' reign of terror was less prominent in Hogwarts.

There was no instance of payback, following that, but Ellie still felt that she was playing the unsuspecting victim, constantly awaiting an attack. She didn't like to think of that, the day she considered the worst in the life.

"Evening, Vanessa."

Ellie's nightmare smiled to James' response, dark lipstick highlighting her somehow perfectly shaped lips. Ellie stiffened, and felt James' hand in hers, somehow distant, as though she had already lost him to the viper's poison.

"Care to Join me for a dance?" She asked casually.

Ellie held her breath and prepared herself to let go of James, because of course he would want to dance with her. What guy wouldn't?

"No. I already have a partner. In fact, we were just getting ready to get up. Shall we Ellie?"

He again practically had to drag her to the floor, this time, because she hadn't really been expecting his response. The last thing she saw before the crowd enveloped the Slytherin, was wide eyes that showed something like surprise, with hurt and rage etched into the lips that were now pressed into a thin frown, curling down more than enough at the ends to show that James would have to pay for this slight.

XXx

Ellie didn't hesitate in telling him the problem.

"James, I think you just sentenced us to two more years of hell," Ellie contemplated aloud, now somehow graceful enough to manage dancing and talking at once this time around.

"What? Old Nessie got you worried?" He joked, smirking. She didn't laugh. And he noticed.

"What's amiss, darling?"

"Why did you reject her, James?" She answered.

"Because she's an absolute bitch. Besides that though, she already has a partner. She had to force Rodney Davies to invite her just to be able to come," he replied, indignantly.

Not quite the answer she had been looking for.

"James, that was _dangerous_. She's going to be out to get me now," Ellie argued. The song changed again, and with it their position, as Ellie felt James' hands carefully move to her waist.

"Because I'm _dancing_ with you?" He asked, seemingly surprised.

Everyone knew that Vanessa went after whoever was considered the hottest guy in their year, an office that James apparently had the privilege of holding, since Clark Quinn had gotten terrible spots.

"Yes." Ellie replied, sounding a bit down.

"Well, cheer up. Is she looking this way?"

Ellie looked around to see Vanessa watching them darkly.

"Yes. Why?"

"Because I figure we'd better give her something to actually be jealous of," he grinned, leaning down a bit towards her. She hesitated for a moment, but rose up on her toes to meet him.

It wasn't just a small gesture, like his smile on the stairs had been, this time.

At first, Vanessa just stood there, going stiff next to her date, poor Rodney Davies. Ellie didn't have the pleasure of seeing it, but from the second the kiss began, the witch was squeezing her cup of punch with so much rage that it crumpled and spilt all over her hands and dress, which promptly began to steam and let off an odor of fire whiskey. She threw her glass on the floor, and stormed out.

They stayed together for as long as they could hold their breath, just a still pair of people in a sea of moving ones. They were lucky that all of the chaperones had, in that precise moment, rushed to the other side of the room to stop Professor Flitwick from attempting to steal a violin from someone in the band. All of the Professors, that is, save one. Professor Dumbledore, who had just accepted a bag of galleons from Professor McGonagall.

"Two for two," he chuckled under his breath.

XXx

She hadn't wanted the night to end. She wanted to stay with James, despite her aching feet and tired eyes. When a clock struck twelve, the band stopped abruptly, save one viola holding out the last note in a desperate attempt to make the night last even a moment longer.

The students were dismissed back to their houses, and James walked back with an arm around Ellie's waist all the way, up several flights of stairs to the Gryffindor common room, where students were still trickling back in, and saying goodnight to their partners to go back to their dormitories.

Typically, there would be some kind of after party, where food would be stolen from the kitchens, and students would stay up until daylight, but tonight, there was none. This was at least partially due to the lack of Sirius Black, the typical food stealer, who was not anywhere to be found. Peter had already gone to bed some time earlier.

Ellie could not seem to will herself up the stairs. Instead, she flopped down on a sofa, and took off her shoes, neatly placing them down next to her feet. James sidled in behind her and sat down neatly beside her, jumping over the back of the sofa.

"I want to wait for Rose," Ellie announced, leaning back, already exhausted, but unwilling to go to bed before her friend had arrived back safely.

"Well, their escapade was not put in to be approved me, so I don't know when they'll be returning."

"Fine." Ellie replied wearily, somewhat stubbornly.

They spoke while they waited, until conversation lulled into a small comment so often. After what felt like years, the fire died, and darkness encroached upon them from the shadows. Ellie realized at some point that she was slipping in and out of sleep, and in another that she was accidentally leaning (and probably drooling) on James. Unless it was just a dream.

The next time she woke up, she was back in her dormitory.

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 _Bit of a longer chapter here, but I think that's a good thing._ _Romance isn't my strong suit, and neither is teenage guy, so this whole relationship thing is being a little tricky. Whatever. Please feel free to review. Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: it was about now that i realized that ellie and james couldnt be together yet. James potter still has some growing up to do, and i think thats part of what will make the rest of this story interesting. Ok, thanks for the usual reading and reviewing!_


	15. Howling for You

The open night air was cool and dark, the stars shining brightly, and the moon still struggling against the clouds to illuminate the castle grounds.

She had taken them to one of her favorite spots, a small overlook on the roof that looked out onto the grounds, with the lake stretching endlessly to their right, and the Forbidden Forest looming to the left.

Sirius was next to her, his arms wrapped around her bare shoulders to fend off the chill. He looked out, and let out a sigh of what might have been awe, removing his mask to be able to see better.

"How did you find this place?" He asked in wonder. It had taken them several secret passages before they had found the hidden trapdoor entrance.

"Well, Gryffindors aren't the only ones with secrets," she smiled slyly, pushing her mask up onto the top of her head. He laughed in response, and her smile grew.

"Speaking of, there's something that you didn't tell me," she hinted.

"And what might that be?" He bluffed.

"Today, or more precisely at 11:41 p.m, exactly 17 minutes from now, it will be your birthday," she stated. He simply smiled a little in the moonlight that was foggy from the clouds.

"Did James tell you?" He asked, not very curious.

"No. Peter."

"Aha, that little rat! I should have known. I told him not to say anything," he replied, hardly sounding as annoyed as his words suggested him to be.

"Thank Merlin for Peter. I wouldn't have known if he hadn't said something. Why didn't you tell me?" She pouted, her eyes large and expressive.

"Birthdays aren't much for me. At home... Well, it's just another opportunity for my mother to force the family blood on me. 'Here Sirius, have this incredibly fricking wonderful quill that everyone on your family tree once owned. It's worth more than twenty galleons. Oh, and it's got the damn family crest all over it as well. Love it, or we'll disown you.' I don't usually make a fuss," he explained. Although his words were sharp, he still managed to use a light tone. In fact, while impersonating his mother, he had used a ridiculously high pitched voice in mock, which in turn kept the situation free of burden. The pair laughed softly for a moment.

"Still, it hardly left me time to get anything. So thank you _again_ for that. Fortunately for you, I've managed to scrounge up something at the last minute that might do, under the circumstances," teased Rose.

"Oh, under the circumstances?" He asked, gently pushing a loose curl back behind her ear.

"Yes. I've done quite a bit of research for this gift, and I think you'll enjoy it."

"I'd assume so, considering it's coming from you."

She laughed softly.

"All right. Have you ever heard of a patronus charm?"

"It rings a bell, but I'll admit, I don't know exactly," he admitted.

"It's a protection spell, used against things like dementors and lethifolds. Creatures that survive off of the happiness of others. The patronus charm is the only known defense against them." She paused to make sure he understood. He nodded.

"And?"

"Well, the full form of a patronus is an animal, sort of a burst of light that sort of chases the monsters away. It's supposed to be _very_ difficult to cast. And the research I've done... Well, there are only three registered animagi currently, but for each of them, the animal form of their patronus and animagus are the same," she stated.

Sirius' eyes lit up.

"So if we can cast the patronus-"

"We'll know what our animagus is. Without waiting another three months," she finished.

The night suddenly seemed much less deep and mysterious, more open to them, more alive with possibility.

"So, how do we cast this incredibly challenging charm, exactly?" Sirius asked.

"Well, you sort of flick your wrist like this, and then, it gets tricky. You have to try to use happiness, to focus on a happy thought or memory, to create the corporeal patronus. Then you have to say _'Expecto Patronum'_."

Sirius took his wand out of his pocket and practiced the movement.

"Have you done this before?" He asked, curious as to what her patronus was.

"No. I haven't tried yet. I... I was waiting for you," she replied, smiling a little sheepishly.

"Well, I'm glad I won't be the only beginner," he grinned, as they both practiced their wand waving, him with his left hand and her with her right, while they held hands.

"Do you have your memory?" She asked after a few minutes.

"No. I could use one," he smiled slyly. She laughed and punched him playfully, but still turned to meet him as he leaned down a bit towards her.

Their kiss this time was full of joy, of simple mirth and bubbling pleasure. By the time they had finished, the cool in the night air had been chased away and had been replaced by their simple satisfaction of being together.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded, facing him. A happy memory wasn't necessary when you were so full of undisciplined euphoria.

They raised their wands to the sky.

" _Expecto Patronum_ ," they whispered, in harmony. For a half second, it looked like nothing was happening. Then, out from the wand tips, figures leapt and began to bound through the night.

Rose's ran, as though on the ground, through the air, racing what had come from Sirius' wand tip, and the pair put on a show for their owners to watch, racing and chasing, and darting around each other.

His was a great beast, a dog, a dark silver shape, all fur and fluff, with a great panting tongue sticking out.

Hers seemingly matched, as it was a smaller and neater version of his, still a dog, but not as gigantic, more dainty and slightly smaller, a border collie, a creature in silver that had it's ears cocked, looking playful and intelligent, as it stopped in front of the couple on the deck and sat facing them. Sirius' hound followed, and nuzzled Rose's dog as it came to a stop.

"They're so beautiful," she gasped in awe.

The rest of the world could have frozen on them, and they wouldn't have noticed.

"Does it mean something when they're the same?" Sirius asked, curiously.

"Well, it's said that when people have the same, or similar patronuses, that they're meant to be together. Soul mates."

A howl split through the night, coming from the direction of Hogsmeade. It was deep with what might have been sorrow, but surely mourning and wretchedness. Pain. It made the patronuses shiver and whimper. Rose stepped a bit closer to Sirius who squeezed her reassuringly.

"Do you think..." She began, looking off into the distance, suddenly worrying about Remus.

"He's safe, wherever he is," Sirius soothed. "That's why we went through this, by the way. For Moony."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's always suffering, always in so much pain. We decided that the safest way to visit him was like this. Apparently the change only happens if you're bitten as a human."

"And there's no cure?" She asked.

"None."

They looked off into the sky.

Another howl lifted on the night wind.

The pair of them joined in, howling from the roof of the castle, the noise now less sorrowful with the two of them Joined in, noses up towards the full moon, voices pushing out the echo into the late October sky. Their patronuses mirrored them, although they made no sound.

When they ran out of breath, they stopped and felt the cool air flooding into their chests.

She could feel Sirius's heart, feel as she moved with his deep breaths, feel his warmth against her. He reflected her own feelings to her, how light her chest felt, how her heart fluttered like a tiny golden snitch, how she felt like a princess in her dress, standing in her castle with her prince.

She was still wearing her heels, but even then, she had to stand up a bit to reach his lips, barely visible as clouds swept over the moon.

This kiss was long and savory, deep with emotion, something even more than just childish giddiness. It was still and moving, and liquid and solid, and a dream but reality. And for once, they didn't have to stop, and they didn't want to. They kept up until after their patronuses had faded, until her lips were swollen, and she was almost too tired to stand, and he agreed that it would be a good idea to go back before they actually did fall asleep and got into real trouble.

They made their way through the castle, silent and invisible under the cloak, still incredibly close together, Rose now holding her heels because she had taken them off to stop her feet from hurting. They didn't pause until they reached Gryffindor tower, and they pulled off the cloak as they entered the common room, to find Ellie asleep, practically on top of James, who was awake reading an old issue of the Daily Prophet.

"There you are. I was beginning to think that the pair of you weren't going to come back," James smirked.

"Then who would be there to relieve you from your babysitting duty?" Sirius asked, amused by the position that the pair on the couch had assumed.

"I figured I would just wait out the night," James replied, smiling comfortably.

It was a good thing that Ellie didn't snore. Much.

Rose levitated Ellie's sleeping form to follow behind her as she wandered up the stairs to their dormitory, holding two pairs of shoes, hers and Ellie's. She said goodbye to the boys and gave Sirius a quick kiss on the jaw.

Seeing as her hands were full, and she was more than a little bit tired, walking up the stairs was quite dangerous. The stairs were spiral and narrow, and Ellie hit her head on the sides of the stairwell a few times, a slight casualty, seeing as Rose was thoroughly exhausted and struggling not to drop her friend entirely.

She flopped Ellie down into her bed, dress and all, and left her there to sleep. Rose squeezed out of her dress and fell into bed, leaving it on a pile on the floor. She was asleep before she could even worry about hanging it up, or pulling up her covers.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 _These chapter titles have been a little weird so far, and I'm still figuring out what I want to do with them, but hopefully I'll ike the rest of them as much as I like this one. I love the black keys. Feel free to review and let me know what you think (even if its not totally positive, I just like having opinions). Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: wow i have no life except editing this. I just turned dowm a round of mariokart for this i hope it was worth it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I would so totally give up more mariokart if if meant making your day with a pot. Ttfn._


	16. Bros Before Does

"Good _lord_ , Sirius, you're _covered_ in lipstick! What _were_ you up to all night?" James teased as the pair trudged back to their dormitory.

"Well, it wasn't _my_ idea. And the roof is _absolutely_ lovely this time of evening. I should take you there some time, darling," Sirius joked.

"Just say the word," James replied seriously, not laughing a bit.

"How _did_ things end up for you?" Sirius inquired.

"Well, alright with Ellie Mae. But you won't guess who asked for a dance," James said, sounding tired.

"Vanessa Riddle." Sirius guessed.

"Sirius, I said you wouldn't guess. Don't make me out to be a liar," James replied.

"I heard Clarissa tell Kyla last week while I was in detention," Sirius admitted.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" James asked, mockingly aghast.

"Well, I meant to, but it seems to have escaped me before I actually bothered," Sirius replied, so tired that he almost walked into a wall.

"Kissing pretty girls can do that to you," James replied, wisely.

"Well, what did you tell her?" Sirius asked.

"More or less to screw off. Then I kissed Ellie. I think it sent the right message," he summarized.

"What, that you have some kind of a _death wish_? _Merlin_ , James, when I've been turned into a mouse and skewered as revenge, send my remains to my Uncle Alphard, the only one in my family who really loves me," Sirius requested, opening their dormitory door.

"I shan't. Postage is far too expensive nowadays. I'll just bury you next to my dead rabbit in the garden. And besides, I doubt that even _Vanessa_ could do anything to you without provoking your mother."

"That is, _if_ she still considers herself my mother. There _was_ a reason that I showed up on your doorstep last summer," Sirius replied, darkly.

Peter snored a bit louder upon their intrusion, but otherwise, he seemed to have completely dropped. It was already 12:30 in the morning, and neither of them were awake enough to actually get properly ready for bed.

"Ellie's worried though. Remember what the witches did to her second year?"

"No one's ever going to forget _that_ ," Sirius replied, hanging his mask on the corner of his small wardrobe.

"She's worried something like that will happen again, I think," James confided.

"Well, for Merlin's sake, we should stop them! Do you know what Rose would do if something like that happened again? She would get herself expelled for sure this time," Sirius replied, suddenly alarmed. If she was expelled, what would he do?

"The only reason she didn't last time was because Dumbledore stopped her. Remember that?" James asked. Sirius, meanwhile, had sat on the bed and was staring up at the ceiling.

"In the great hall, before god and everyone. How could I forget? That was the first time I noticed her, I think. When she was standing on the table, I-oof," Sirius' voice had obtained a dreamlike quality while he talked about his girlfriend, and James had consequently thrown a pillow at him from across the room, which had found its mark right on his jaw.

"Siriusssss, _shut up_ about your love life," James moaned.

"It's not _my_ fault that you're too afraid of rejection to actually ask anyone out. Not that they'd say yes, because of what an ugly old bat you are," Sirius replied.

"Everyone says that I'm the better looking one, so up yours. And it's not rejection I'm afraid of," James replied.

Sirius opened his mouth to say that everyone was lying because Peter was _clearly_ the good looking one, but changed gears mid thought as he heard James come close to a secret.

"And what is it you're afraid of?" Sirius pestered.

"None of _your_ beeswax," James replied, ready to put up a good fight.

"Tell me." Sirius started.

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"You forgot the magic word." James taunted, reluctantly.

"Alohamora."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'm going to find out anyway."

"For the fourth time, no."

"That was the fifth time, actually."

"I wasn't counting."

"Why not?"

"I was too busy telling you to _screw off_."

"Ouch. Well, I suppose I could just hex it out of you," Sirius threatened.

"Ugh, fine. But it's not going to be worth the 'please'," James replied, knowing that Sirius' threat was empty, but still tiring of the situation.

"I'm afraid that they won't leave. That I'll be with them forever. Not that I'd be stuck with them against my will, or anything, but one of these days, the next girl I choose might be the one I marry. And then there will be _children_. And _then_ I'll be old and my life will be gone. I'm not worried about that sort of thing until I think about really seriously dating, and then when I do, it all just seems like too much. Like, I'm going to lose the rest of my life. I've already lost a good fifteen years, and if the next fifteen go this fast, then I'm already a good halfway to dead. And it doesn't worry me until I think about how someone will be there with me and if I choose the wrong person, then all those years will be a waste. I mean, I like Ellie, but is she what I want for the rest of my life? Only some girls make me think that way, about having something real. Something permanent. Some of them are more, 'wouldn't she be good for snogging', but Ellie's different. She makes me think, and makes me feel, and she's just genuinely got this personality that I adore. But she scares me too. Because when I think of being with her, I think of having that permanent relationship, and I just wonder if I'm good enough for her, and if I can handle that, losing all of those years, and if I really can be capable of something so...forever. It's easier just to act like an ass and get everyone to leave me alone. I just... I don't know. You know?"

James awaited a response, but amidst Peter's obnoxious snores, realized that Sirius too had been claimed by sleep.

 _So much for listening._

James just sighed, and pondered his situation, until sleep overtook him too.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _You know how I said I was bad at writing teenage guys? Well if this isn't proof, then I don't know what is. James and Sirius for the win though, brotp forever. Thanks for reading and reviewing so far! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: rip my writing abilities, its starting to get late and i'm barely even paying attention any more. Oh well. Thanks for reading and reviewing through all of this chaos._


	17. Quidditch Fouls

Remus didn't come back for another two days. When he did, he looked worse than ever, with bags under his eyes and a slouch to his posture that was undeniably from lack of rest. He did look sick. And now was absolutely the worst possible time to be tired. Everyone around him was abuzz with excitement for today's opening match.

Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

A majority of the students were covered in red and gold, doing everything from wearing scarves to waving flags. Even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. James had already left for the pitch, followed by Nate and Lynn, along with the rest of the team. Rose and Sirius had gone up early to save seats, so all who were left with him at the breakfast table were Peter and Ellie.

"Are you feeling better, Remus?" Ellie asked through her marmalade toast.

"Yes, much," he confirmed.

"Did you get the your potions essay back yet, Remus?" Peter asked, careful to immediately direct the conversation away from his friend's absence.

"Yeah. Full marks. How about you?" Remus asked.

"Same, thanks to your help," Ellie replied. The essay had been due two weeks before, and soon the entire group was in discussion of it, Ellie having forgotten to think about Remus' mysterious illness.

Xxx

They made their way out to the Quidditch pitch, where Sirius and Rose were waiting for them. They had clearly been snogging, Remus decided. Sirius' hair was far too ruffled, and her scarf (which was usually impeccably neat) too crooked for anything else to be the case. Ellie took the seat next to Rose, and he sat down next to Sirius. The girls starting talking, about James, he assumed, as he heard a few snippets of their conversation through the wind that was extraordinarily strong today.

He knew that lately, Rose was very cross with James, first for not asking Ellie to dance, and then for doing it just to spite Vanessa Crowe. Furthermore, and Remus agreed with her on this point, they were now officially enemies of the witches, which was a dangerous position to be in. If they snooped a little too far, his condition would be realized, and he probably be expelled.

Rose was now on the verge of avoiding James in order to keep her temper, which was not a good sign.

But even that, Remus noticed, as he tried to stay awake through the game, was not enough to stop her from cheering loudly whenever any of the rest of the team got anywhere near a goal. Slytherin was playing dirty and only ten minutes into the game, there were already three penalty shots.

By twenty minutes, Gryffindor was up one hundred and fifty to zero. The team really was excellent this year, Remus mused as the game went on. As he watched from his front row seat, he noticed how clean the passes were, how their keeper was making miraculous saves, how the beaters managed to hit nearly every Slytherin player in the game. Rose's little brother had already spotted the Snitch about three times and had dove spectacularly in an attempt to reach it. He continued on now, scanning far above the field in slow circles. James scored another goal, shooting in so quickly that the enemy keeper hardly had time to react.

Up above, it seemed like there was some action, as the two seekers dove off to the left suddenly, swooping down to be almost perfectly level with the seats. They chased something golden around the outside of the pitch, still high above the ground. Nate was ahead, his small, thin build helping tremendously in the race after the small object. Also going on with the rest of the game, Lynn had just scored with an assist from James. The two seekers were neck and neck now, Aspen Crutch, the Slytherin seeker and captain, gaining a bit every second but not quite ahead, as the pair changed direction, flying straight up after the snitch. Suddenly, Aspen reached out, as though to grab the ball, but instead, took a firm grip on Nate's shoulder, and gave a tremendous yank, sending the small Gryffindor seeker off his broom and towards the ground at an alarming rate. He flipped a few times in the air, his arms spinning wildly, trying to slow his descent, broom simply falling after him. Next to Remus, Rose was on her feet, jumping to the rail of the box.

Time slowed down.

Remus watched as the girl in front of him screamed, panic in every line of her face, hair flying wildly in the wind, pointing her wand to follow the falling figure downward as she searched for a spell to save her little brother, how as he got nearer and nearer to the earth, she began to lean over the edge, his angle of descent too steep for her, as she draped herself over the railing. How eventually, Sirius shook off his panic long enough to pull her back over to their side of the barrier, how he had to wrap his arms around her to stop her from rushing right back over the edge.

It looked like Nate had fainted, and as he fell, his body forming a teardrop shape.

There was no way to stop the fall.

Sweeping over from the far end of the field was James, wand raised, moving incredibly quickly, screaming out a spell whose words were lost over the tumultuous crowd's uproar.

Nate's descent stopped suddenly, with a spine-jarring jerk, and James hovered exactly below him, arms raised above his head, supporting the small body and lowering him carefully to the ground and to the side, to where several professors and Madam Pomfrey rushed from the stands to meet them after a moment.

Rose watched from the rail, still panicked. He didn't wake up.

Meanwhile. Slytherin had gained possession despite the whistle from the referee, and had made several shots on the Gryffindor hoops.

As the professors walked her brother off of the field, Rose looked like she didn't quite know what to do. Sirius drew her in towards his chest, and held her tightly, as she began to quietly sob. Ellie stood, after having been too stunned to move for the last minute and waited for Rose to pull herself together before taking the hand of her friend and dragging her off to the hospital wing.

"And I think- _yes_! None of those goals count, but Slytherin's got the Snitch! Slytherin gets the snitch to end the game, but Gryffindor still wins, with a score of 170 to 150!" Exclaimed the commentator, Karin, the young Gryffindor that Rose had encountered before the costume party.

The crowd was going wild, thrown into a frenzy by the game's events. Remus watched as the team landed, minus James who had gone ahead to the hospital wing. He stood with Sirius and Peter to join them.

XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxXxxxxXxXx

 _This is kind of based on my little brother's sports injury from a few years ago, although much more severe. I think as a sibling, I really wish I had been able to do more to help, or even that he could have been healed as quickly as he might end up being. But, on a lighter note, all that we ever do is fight, so if you have any interesting ideas for sibling interactions, let me know. Also, I feel like if James did to my best friend what he did to Ellie, I would also be mad at him. But I guess that's the way people are. Just confused with good intentions. I don't know. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: sooooooooo i just got some ideas for this piece that i have to write, so that will certainly be interesting, when i get there. Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	18. I'm Not Sick, But I'm Not Well

"You will _not_ be permitted inside."

Professor McGonagall stood guard in front of the large Hospital wing doors, blocking the entrance of Peter, Sirius, and Remus.

"But professor-"

"There will be _none_ of that, Mr. Pettigrew. Rules are rules."

"Professor, James is already in there, though," Sirius argued.

"And with good reason! He is, after all, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain! I assure you, he will be out soon. Now run along."

They turned, dejected, around the corner, where Sirius began to grumble.

"I swear, we're going to have to find a secret passage into there," he stormed.

Remus was suddenly struck by an idea.

"The door's not the only way in, even if there is no secret passage," he said, grinning mysteriously. "And the best part is that it's not technically breaking any rules."

XXXXXXxxxxxxxXxx

As Rose and Ellie rushed into the infirmary, they made it in just before Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor and groundskeeper, left and shut the large doors behind him.

Rose took a deep breath. Nate would be okay. Madam Pomfrey had him now. Ellie had brought her back to her senses at the pitch. She had that kind of effect on people.

James, however was in no such state of calm. He was pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly with his hands and yelling loudly about how dirty Slytherin had played, and how they should be ejected from the house tournament, although he knew that what had happened often happened in Quidditch, and that it was even expected to happen during games against rival teams, such as the one today had been. He rejected a calming drought that Madam Pomfrey offered him, and continued his rant, clearly now just reacting to the shock of what he had just done, of how he had just saved a life.

Ellie had previously occasionally come to help Madam Pomfrey in the infirmary, (as she was once interested in the mental health wizarding profession) and was now rushing around with the other teachers and Madam Pomfrey, fetching various things or working on spells for health. Professor McGonagall had gone to fetch an owl to send to Professor Dumbledore, who had been in London for the day.

Only Rose was listening to James' rant, and it was growing more high pitched and panicked with every moment, as he began to kick the empty beds in anger and frustration.

She could hardly bear to drop her brother's limp hand, but James' situation was becoming more pressing.

She walked up to him and hugged him, tightly.

It seemed to do the trick and stopped him from talking, shocking him into freezing. He knew that she was cross at him, and was now incredibly puzzled as to how she could stand to be so close. It seemed his brain was moving a little sluggishly. After a minute, he lifted up his arms and hugged her back, almost robotically, as if by default.

"James, you've done it. Nate's safe now. You saved him. Now, I need you to calm down, alright?" She spoke carefully, trying to use a soft voice to calm him.

He just stayed frozen.

"James, listen to me. You're alright. Come over here," she forced his arms apart and took his hand, guiding him to the bed that Madam Pomfrey had left his potion next to.

"Sit." He obeyed, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Now I need you to drink this," she told him, carefully putting the potion into his hands.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, looking bewildered.

"Drink it, James."

"I'm sorry." he said, still looking completely confused. She was startled by the sound of his voice, carrying no sarcasm or zeal, just a desperate, childlike need. He looked at the unconscious boy on the bed next to him and then back up at her.

"I'm sorry. I... I'm sorry." He looked incredibly confused and still panicked.

"No, James. Don't be. It's okay now. I forgive you," she told him, speaking genuinely.

He met her gaze, and then broke away, almost as though ashamed, and then brought the bottle to his mouth, swallowing a huge sip.

He handed it to her, and fell back onto his pillows, asleep in a matter of seconds.

The bustle suddenly died, as the teachers circled around Nate. Madam Pomfrey carefully propped him up on a pillow and spooned a thick liquid into his mouth.

He sputtered, gasped and tried to sit up, suddenly regaining consciousness, Professor Carkson pushing him back down.

He looked up into the eyes of the professors, his sister and girlfriend's sister, and the school nurse, and suddenly felt small. His blue eyes opened widely as he stared at them. Suddenly, he realized that someone was missing.

"Lynn? Is Lynn okay?" He asked, alert and now panicked.

"Hush, my dear, I'm sure she's fine," the nurse replied, trying to soothe the child, gesturing for everyone to step back a little to give him space to breathe.

"No, you don't understand, the other seeker-the captain- told me that he was going to go after her and James, she's still out there with him," he said, talking quickly though moving like he was in pain and trying to get up.

"Oh, dear! I'll be down there in two shakes! Don't worry my dear I'll take care of it!" Professor Sprout dashed off, and after a quick word with Madam Pomfrey, Professor Clarkson was on her heels.

Ellie too leapt up to rush to her sister's aide, but Rose grabbed her arm, and held her back.

"Ellie, the whole school is watching, and the rest of the team had her back. They won't let you in again if you leave now. James will want you to be here when he wakes up. She'll be all right."

"Okay," Ellie only sometimes knew the truth when she heard it, but she could tell that James wasn't the only one who needed emotional support right now.

The other professors did not return, although Professor McGonagall did after manning the door, and apparently warding off a herd of admirers for both boys, she came in and gave an update. Lynn was perfectly alright, as Crutch didn't have the guts to go after her in front of the entire team. Because of his behavior, he was banned from the quidditch cup, and was given two months of detention (with the deputy headmistress herself), warned that if this behavior should occur again that he would be expelled. His parents were also sent an owl, along with Mr. and Mrs. Bennett detailing the day's events. Madam Pomfrey told her in return that James was recovering from shock, and would be permitted to leave as soon as he woke up, as long as he felt better, and that Nate had a minor head injury and a bad case of whiplash that would keep him in the hospital wing for the remainder of the weekend, until he had healed adequately.

McGonagall left just before James awoke. The moment before the knocking began.

Madam Pomfrey was gone for a while, at the apothecary to fetch something-or-other, when a mysterious tapping came from the window.

It just about terrified Ellie, who although was a Gryffindor, was not particularly brave in the face of strange knocks, especially those which came in a darkened hospital wing when there was no adult to ward them away.

Rose, however was always braver around others, whether they be strangers, or friends, and went immediately to investigate. Although she was not at all fond of looking out of darkened windows, someone would have to do it to be able to find the source of the rapping noise.

She cupped her hands around the glass panes in an attempt to see outside, and jumped back, screaming after a half second glance.

"Someone's out there!"

Ellie assumed that she was kidding. She would occasionally do this sort of thing late at night just to excite her friend and stop her from falling asleep. The mere mention of demons, banshees or werewolves was enough to terrify Ellie enough to keep her up for hours, as she often ruined the sleepover spirit with her tiredness.

"Rose. Be serious. We're _at least_ eight floors up," Ellie argued, an edge to her voice that said it was not time for teasing.

"I _am_ serious. You look," Rose replied, trying unsuccessfully to see out the window without getting too near to it.

"No way."

The knocks came, louder and more insistent this time, along with a muffled voice.

"It sounds like a _person_!" Ellie exclaimed, astounded.

"I _TOLD_ you! It is!"

A wand illuminated on the far side of the glass, and it became clear that it wasn't in fact just anybody, it was actually Sirius, followed shortly by Peter and Remus.

"LET US IN!" He shouted again, through the glass.

Rose rushed to unlock the large window and swing it open.

"Bloody Hell! What are you doing!" She exclaimed, as the three boys flew in on brooms, dripping puddles across the pristine floor of the infirmary.

"Visiting the sick, of course. It's one of the ten commandments," Sirius replied, shaking off like a dog, and spraying water everywhere.

"Actually, it's not," Peter piped up from behind him, wringing out his wet hat and trying not to shiver.

"It's a work of mercy," Remus corrected, using a clever little spell to dry himself and mop up after his friends.

"Yes. And speaking of works of mercy, I've just done another one. I noticed that you lot skipped dinner, so I went down to the kitchens to see if I could scrounge up a meal. Feeding the hungry," Sirius said, pulling a basket of hot sandwiches from under his rain cloak and throwing it to the girls.

"Enjoy," he told them, taking a bottle of ink from his pocket, and dabbing some onto his finger. He then proceeded to smear it onto James' face, just above the upper lip, giving him a ridiculous ink mustache. He then cleaned his hand using a spell.

Despite the fact that Sirius was perfectly capable of ignoring why James was nearly in a coma to play a prank on him, his other two companions seemed properly concerned. After saying hello, they descended upon James like a wake of vultures.

"What's happened? Is he dead?!" Peter asked, visibly fretting and wringing his wet hat stressfully. Lupin seemed to be amused for a moment as he looked at the remnant of the potion James had consumed on the bed stand.

"Of course not, Peter. The pansy just went into shock. It's just a temporary potion, correct?" He asked. Ellie nodded in reply.

They began to speak of Madam Pomfrey's various potions and her skill in health, and Ellie realized that Remus really did spend quite a bit of time in the hospital wing, although he was almost never there when she had acted as an assistant. _Strange_.

Meanwhile, at the adjacent bed, Sirius had sat down next to Nate, who was fighting sleep in an attempt to stay up and talk.

"How you feeling, old chap?" Sirius asked lightly.

"Like my neck's been replaced by a flobberworm. But other than that, alright, I suppose," Nate replied. They began a conversation regarding quidditch and practice times, but were cut short in only a few minutes by an older sister trying to get her brother to bed on time.

"Awh, Roo. Ten more minutes?"

She shook her head sternly as Sirius got up and she arranged the sheets.

"You heard what Madam Pomfrey said. The more sleep you get, the sooner you'll heal." She tucked him in, and kissed him on the top of the head, just as their mother always did. "I'll stay a while longer, but not all night. Will you be alright?" She asked.

He nodded slightly, indicating he would be fine for the time being.

"All right then, sweetheart. Goodnight."

"Sleep tight," he replied.

"Don't let the vampires bite," she replied, closing the curtains so that he could rest in peace.

Meanwhile, James had just woken up.

"Wassamatter?" He asked, rubbing his already scruffy hair and looking around.

The mustache drawn by Sirius looked so ridiculous that Lupin and Sirius had to cover up their laughter with false coughing so as to not give their work away.

Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey burst into the infirmary, absolutely livid.

"What exactly do you think you're doing here, gentlemen?" She asked, clearly beginning to start the process of shooing them out.

"Professor Dumbledore sent us," Sirius replied, trying to think quickly and let them stay a little while longer.

"I'm sure!" She responded. "I've just come from his office, and he mentioned nothing of you!"

"We'll just be going then," Sirius replied, almost as though his tail had gone between his legs at being found out.

"And _quickly_ , as long as you don't want to have to serve a detention!" She called after the three boys, as they began to shuffle out, conjuring a wet rag for James to clean the ink off his face with.

Rose and Ellie thanked her, and then proceeded back to their dorm for the night, first stopping to check on the animagus and liquid luck potions, which were coming along nicely.

XXXXXXxxxxxxx

 _I have some interesting ideas for the next section. Very danger. So adventure. This has been a lot longer than I thought it was, and so far there has been less character development than I would have hoped for. Especially for Peter. I think the next bit might involve him. I knew someone who reminded me of him so I might use him as a template or something. Whatever works. Also, I really love Remus a lot. I feel like he's one of those people who you sort of just naturally get along with. Sirius has sort of taken a more dignified route than a lot of people like, but I think that it makes sense, as far as his family history goes, with him being all noble and stuff. James... Well, I thought of James a lot as sort of being mother to the rest of the group, sort of being a better person when he wasn't being a jerk to Snape, especially after I re-read the Prisoner of Azkaban, and it talks so much about how he would have taken pity on Peter, and a whole bunch of other nice stuff that grown up Sirius and Remus say about him. As far as Ellie and Rose are concerned, I sort of wanted two best friends, and I didn't really mean for everyone to pair off the way that they did. Whatever works. They were both based on two people who I know really well, and chances are that if you threw those two real people into this work instead of Ellie and Rose, that they would act almost the exact same way. Wow. That got really long. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and it might be a little while before I post again, as school has officially started. I have more prewritten, but I'm not sure that its ready for posting yet. Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: SO IM GETTING YELLED AT TO GO TO BED RIGHT NOW, so ill edit tomorrow, but in the mean time, thanks so much for reading and reviweing and for bearing with me while i edit!_


	19. The Start of Something New

Peter worried about James incessantly, as he wasn't back with them until lunch on Monday. He worried for his own skin, especially because James was the only one who _could_ tell their secret, the one that could land them in Azkaban.

When James arrived, he explained that he had just stayed to miss transfiguration, because he hadn't done the homework. Making them fret for nothing? Typical. Since it turned out that he was safe ( _at least for now,_ he reminded himself), Peter felt a bit better. He hated that something could have happened to all of them because _James_ of all people had decided to be stupid. His other friends would never try that. In fact... The Hufflepuff girl from Muggle Studies, Magda, was beginning to become friends with him. Peter was even considering asking her to come to the next Hogsmeade visit. But he couldn't tell James or Sirius. They would laugh. They already made a habit of making fun of her spots. And this whole animagus thing... Was it worth it to be friends with someone who only made fun of you? Was it a bad idea to possibly take a potion that could result in excruciating death, one that would bind him closely to people who he was already growing away from? From people who lied about everything?

As it was, James would be well enough even, to practice tonight. Peter wished that he was half as talented at quidditch as James was. And the fact that he wasn't was continually irking him. He didn't need to be. So James shouldn't make fun of his clumsiness as much as he did. He had other friends who weren't so boastful, and Sirius never did stop teasing him...

In Peter's mind, he was beginning to see that these two famous boys weren't all that they were cracked up to be. Since they had gotten into relationships, they would hardly give him the time of day. Remus too, was worried more often, and could hardly seem to do more than cast his eyes up at the sky waiting for the next full moon. Until he transformed. Peter shivered with the thought of having to go out into the darkened grounds with a werewolf.

Just then, Rose came up to the table.

She was a bit too intimidating for him, but she was also quite nice when in the mood. The trick was getting her there, of which he seemed incapable. She only seemed to like certain people, and her moods changed as quickly as her opinions did. If someone was annoying her, she told them, and he often needed telling. "Peter, roll up your sleeves you're going to spread ink onto my essay. Peter, don't stir that way, to the left, Peter. The left." She really did make a perfect match for Sirius who'd enforce her commands if Peter didn't comply fast enough. Sure, she had been kind to him (and she still mostly was), but the way she acted, like she owned the place, got annoying. He preferred Ellie, really. She was much kinder, and always made time to talk to him, although it was usually about James. How great James was, how he was _so_ funny... Peter was getting sick of them, too. And soon, he would be tied to them for good.

But he still had one last choice...

And he was just preparing himself to speak, waiting for the right time. He didn't need -no, _want_ \- their power, their popularity any more.

But meanwhile, Rose had news.

"I was just coming past the Slytherin table, Sirius, listen, you'll want to hear this, they've already appointed a new Slytherin keeper," she informed, as a matter-of-factly.

"Who?" James puzzled. As his job as captain, he would need to know. And he did happen to know that no one who had tried out for the Slytherin team in the fall had gone for seeker.

"Well," Rose replied. "That's where it gets interesting. It's Regulus!"

Sirius dropped his spoon halfway to his mouth and spilled hot soup all over himself.

Cursing loudly, he cleaned up quickly with a spell.

"What do you mean?!" He exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Your brother's the new Slytherin seeker. You should probably congratulate him," Remus replied, yawning and reading a book for Muggle Studies that he had gotten behind on during the time he was out.

"Yeah. I will. Eventually," Sirius confirmed, immediately casting a worried glance towards the far end of the hall where his brother had been sitting.

"Also, I need two people to gather ingredients this weekend for Friday," Rose announced, not missing the look on Sirius' face.

"Alright. Where to? Greenhouse? Potion Stores? Hogsmeade?" James asked, perfectly willing to pick up anything that was needed.

"It's not that simple this time," Rose answered, casting a wary glance out onto the snowy ceiling.

"Why?" Asked Peter, somewhat confused about what all the fuss could be about.

"Well, the next phase of the potion involves adding something of creatures of each of the elements. In case on of our forms can fly, we'll need hairs from a Thestral as the air element. Then for earth, we'll need manticore claw shavings, which I already have. Powdered dragon bone represents fire, but I've already got enough of that. Finally, for water, we'll need mermaid scales from the bottom of the Black Lake."

"So we still need to find thestral hair and mermaid scales?" Peter asked.

"What exactly is a thestral?" James interrupted. "I mean, I know what a mermaid is, but I've never even heard of one of those."

"That's because you never took Care of Magical Creatures," Ellie told him, relating to her previous time in that class. "They're sort of magical horses with wings. They live in the Dark Forest."

"Well! That's easy, then. We've been in there loads of times. We'll just wait for the snow to stop, and then go fetch them," Sirius said, finally returning to the conversation.

"That's not really the problem," Rose replied. "It's just… They're invisible. Unless you've watched someone die."

"Oh." James apologized, for the two of them.

"Hagrid's got a herd of them tamed. They're what pull the school carriages," Ellie informed. "But unless you can see the horses, there's no chance you'll find them in the forest."

"I'll go, then," Remus said, suddenly speaking in the silence that followed, softly, yet not worried or afraid.

"I can go too." Rose volunteered.

"Well, since we've got our sniffer dogs, I suppose that I can tag along," Sirius replied, making it clear that even if he couldn't see the horses, he could still be useful.

"No. We're going on Friday, on our free afternoon. You have detention all week," Rose reminded.

"Can't we go in the evening? Or at night?" He asked, still hanging on and trying to find a way to join in.

Rose shook her head. "No. We need to begin adding the ingredients on Friday evening. That will be too late. And besides, the forest is more dangerous at night. I wouldn't want to be caught out there, especially while the thestrals are hunting," she replied.

He decided to let it go.

"And the mermaid scales?" James asked.

"I have Gillyweed. Only enough for two people, but I think that both should go, for safety. It'll let you swim underwater without breathing. From what I've read, all you have to do is swim to the bottom, and pick some old mermaid scales off the lake bed. Should be easy. That needs doing on Friday afternoon, while we're in the forest. No one will be outdoors, let alone near the lake, in this weather."

"And whoever is going with me has to be a good swimmer," Ellie added, having conferred with Rose beforehand and deciding that she would be best suited for the aquatic task, while Rose would lead the expedition into the woods.

"Well, I suppose I'm the natural choice, then," James added. "Seeing as Peter doesn't swim."

"I don't mind staying back though," Peter relented. "I can keep a lookout on the lake." They all knew it was mostly his cowardice keeping him from arguing that he was really an excellent swimmer.

"Then it's settled. We'll meet early Friday morning for last minute details."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Hey guys! this is just the beginning of what I really call part two. Lots of action and excitement coming, as well as Peter's 'evolution' (I haven't the slightest idea of what to call it) but ANYWAYS, hope you like it! Feel free to review and let me know what you think! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _*Special thanks to K.H for reading! :)_

 _post edit: wow, i'm a loser. Okay. Thanks for reading and reviewing though!_


	20. Into the Deep

James was nervous. There was no way of hiding it, Ellie decided, even if you were James Potter.

Which meant that she probably looked more than just a bit petrified.

This was a wholly new experience.

Bottom of the lake. Possible attack by the giant squid. Grindylows, mermaids, kelpies, you name it, it could be there.

And the gillyweed that they were supposed to be swallowing...

It did not look appetizing, to say the least.

Ellie and James had trudged through the snow to the lake with Peter, and he now stood a ways away, at the end of the dock, keeping their clothes dry. Also tied to the dock was a small floating dinghy, which was completely full of frozen water, although the lake had not quite glossed over yet.

Ellie took the gillyweed out of the small pouch on her waist that they would use to hold the scales.

"Bloody hell," James chattered, shivering in his swim trunks, donned particularly for this occasion. "Is this what we're supposed to be eating?!"

"Yes." Ellie replied, simply.

She pulled out one strand for James and handed it to him, then took one for herself, leaving two strands still in the jar for in case they ran out of time while still swimming, and needed more.

"Bottoms up," she toasted, tucking the jar back into the pouch, where her wand also waited. James had his tucked in a pocket, along with his glasses.

"If you say so." He replied dubiously, eyeing the plant doubtfully.

Together, they put the gillyweed into their mouths and chewed.

Ellie tried hard not to gag. It tasted and felt as though she had just eaten a mass of wriggling worms.

For a moment nothing happened.

And then they started dying.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose secretly loved the forest. She loved all forests, and this, although a particularly dark and dangerous one, was no exception.

One thing that Rose did not love at all were spiders. In fact, she hated them. When she saw a swarm of them headed a line through the trees, she immediately pointed them out to Remus.

"Good lord, where do you think they're going?" She asked, stepping an extra few feet away.

"I don't know. I've never seen that many. Let's steer clear for now," he advised, looking at the crudely drawn map that was estimating where the horses were. He decided that they should be heading a little bit farther in the opposite direction. He was not overly fond of spiders, either.

They continued in what could have been twilight, although it was, in fact, mid-afternoon, the trees shutting out a majority of the sun.

Finally, they found a path, lined by delicate black flowers of all types, some small and delicate, others large and ornate.

It was covered with what might have been bone, that crunched a little bit under their feet.

The darkness was deeper here, pressing into them from all around, making the silence that they had spent nearly the rest of the journey in suddenly dangerous. It felt as though if they didn't speak, something else would. At least, to Remus it did.

"I heard about what you did for James in the infirmary. That was awfully smart of you," he began, getting the thoughts off of his mind, and keeping the silence at bay.

"Well, leave it to me to always do the smart thing. He was panicking. Everyone else was too busy to stop him, so I had to try something," she replied.

"Still, it meant a lot to him. He really likes Ellie, even if he doesn't like to show it," Remus explained.

"It was just hard for me to understand why he doesn't show it. To her, I mean. I can understand wanting some privacy, but to leave her in doubt like that..."

Rose had, in fact, realized that she had gotten close to the reason why James had been so cautious around Ellie, just as Sirius had, and was secretly hoping for more details.

"He never meant to, I don't think. But he's actually very scared of the future, and the fact that he likes her so much frightens him." Remus justified, repeating something that Peter had said about what James had confessed while he had been away after the ball.

Rose climbed over the large log that was between them and their destination, and helped Remus over too, offering a hand. Only another mile of trail, now.

"Well, that's funny," she mused. "I didn't think James Potter could be scared of anything."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

James was terrified.

When he found he couldn't breathe, he immediately resorted to assuming that he had been poisoned.

His arms went to his throat instinctively while he gasped for air, and he realized that his skin felt strange.

Suddenly, his whole body became sore and started burning, especially his hands and feet. He stopped gasping for long enough to watch his hands elongate, and membranes to grow between his fingers, forming... Fins? His feet started wobbling underneath him, as he felt them changing too- he stopped for the first time since his panic started, and looked at Ellie. At first, he thought that she was convulsing, she was shaking so hard. Then he realized that it was laughter. Her hands were only beginning to change, and as they did, she pushed him backwards, into the icy lake, following by jumping in by herself after him.

Immediately, he felt better.

He could breathe, and he felt freed in the water.

He noticed Ellie, a few feet away, still laughing, but in a strange, underwater, sort of way. She didn't stop when he swam over, and she couldn't.

"You should have seen your face!" She laughed.

"I thought I was dying!" James replied, checking on his voice. It was bizarre. Probably just as strange as the fins and gills, but he had already adjusted well to those. He was a natural swimmer. His family had had a vacation home by the sea, and he had spent long days in the ocean as a child.

"I thought the same thing the first time I tried it too. Rose didn't tell me last summer when we were out at a lake in the countryside. I was ready to kill her," Ellie replied, understandingly. "Shall we be on our way?" She asked.

"Yes. I don't think that we have much time," James replied, knowingly, checking on his watch. "Only about an hour with what we have now, and another with what you have in the jar."

"That way, then," Ellie pointed, aligning with the surface features of the lake to find the direction they should go to best avoid creatures, then angling downward, as the lakebed sloped even deeper.

They swam in silence for awhile, very close to each other, as the visibility was very poor. They could only see five meters at best, even with the gillyweed having improved their underwater vision, and it was especially hard for James without his glasses.

After about a half an hour, they came to a mass of rocks, covered by old weeds. According to the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, they were somewhere near an old mermaid settlement that would give them plenty of the ingredients that they needed.

Why the mermaids no longer lived there, he had not said.

Ellie checked the map drawn neatly on her hand for directions.

While she re-oriented herself, James looked around.

They were at the deepest part of the lake now, with black mud covering the bottom only in places where no plants grew. The light was dim, and eerie, casting a strange, greenish glow around everything.

Shadows crept around everywhere, and the landscape was constantly moving, plants and silt swaying with the slightest movements of the water.

They proceeded along the bottom as quickly as possible, attempting to get to the abandoned settlement soon, mindful that their time underwater was down to only a half an hour.

The mermaid settlement was eerie.

Death had visited there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Wow guys, almost a hundred views! I know that it might not be much, but considering that I never assumed anyone would ever read this, that's pretty good! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: why did i title this chapter what it used to be? what was wrong with me? AHHHHHHH MUST EDIT THAT AGH._


	21. Death and Near Death

They both knew that the other had seen something. Watched someone die. How else would they be able to see the thestrals?

And both were dead curious, but too polite to ask the other.

Although, this would be the perfect time for it, Rose reasoned. It was hard to find Remus alone without the rest of the gang, as they always seemed to surround him, to protect him, somehow. And Sirius would often get impatient with her if she would talk to Lupin and not him.

They were both the most intellectual of the group, or that was to say the ones who actually enjoyed studying, although they didn't need to study at all for their grades. (James and Sirius wouldn't study and got somewhat fair marks, worrying more about getting a laugh. Ellie studied hard (though she didn't really need to), and was often favored for all of her hard work. Peter barely made the grade with the rest of them helping him as best they could.)

Rose and Remus had always felt like kindred spirits when it came to the classroom, and the forest was no different. But, Rose also wondered if she even wanted to know. She hoped it didn't have anything to do with his lycanthropy. She didn't know if killing someone as a werewolf counted a watching someone die.

Lupin too was curious, but knew that asking might trigger some kind of response that he didn't need to be dealing with in the middle of the woods.

His problem was solved for him.

"When I was ten, we used to go down to a little quarry near my house to swim. It's quite popular. The locals all go there to cool off when the weather gets hot," Rose began.

Her story was told simply, as though at one point it had been sorrowful to her, but had since become something routinely told to those who were curious. Lupin nodded, knowing the place. He had been there several times when he had visited James. It was a fun place to wile away summer afternoons, with the water flowing cool and fresh, and the trees creating shade above.

"I had older neighbors who used to take us. Nate and I, I mean, while my parents ran the apothecary. We were there one day, just after a rainstorm. It was hot and crowded, and everyone was in the water to cool off. There were no guards, no first aide kits, nothing. Just a ton of kids. I was out sitting on a rock, when I saw someone on top of the water, facing down. I didn't say anything. Figured that he was just floating. That everything was just normal. Then my friends splashed me, and I went back in. Nobody knew that he was dead until we all got out to go home. Needless to say, we were never allowed to go after that. He was only five years old. Lived down the street, and had followed us there apparently. I've seen the thestrals ever since," she finished. Not sounding particularly upset, just understanding that death was just another part of life.

Remus had kept up nodding and looking sincere the whole time he listened to the story. He was a good listener.

"That must have been awful," he said to no one in particular.

"It was worse on everyone else, I think. The poor boy's parents..." She trailed off, watching shadows slinking around the trees.

Remus cleared his throat, as if to begin to tell his own story.

"I've seen them every year. When I was six, I was in muggle London, on the way to visit my gran. There was an automobile wreck outside of her flat, and no one had called any of the muggle emergency responders yet. My mother dropped my hand and ran to the nearest neighbor, and I wandered over to the wreck. There were two cars, full of people with all sorts of injuries. It must have been one of them. I never knew which one. But there was a lot of blood. I had nightmares for years as a child," he explained. He seemed more saddened by his tale than she had been over hers. It seemed like it had been a rude awakening in his childhood to find that not all blood and guts were as glorified as they were supposed to be.

"That must have been hard for you," Rose replied, her voice a reverent whisper.

"My mother was mortified," Lupin recalled, distantly. "I remember that she burst into tears the moment that she saw where I was."

They finally came to a clearing, one where the leaves and grass had been matted down, and the forest floor was black. Although there were no trees, the surrounding limbs more than covered the sky overhead, creating a calm and peaceful shade, in which several horses grazed.

They were tall and elegant, black as pitch, and skinny as a skeleton. Their faces were haunting, reptilian, with milky white eyes. Rose could see why they had been depicted as a death omen. The light seemed to dim around them, and their leathery wings looked very much like that of a bat.

"Did you bring something to feed them?" Remus asked, hesitantly. They were much bigger in real life than the textbooks had led him to believe, and they looked very dangerous.

"Of course," Rose replied. She pulled several raw carrots that she had nicked from the kitchens out of her bag and handed two to Remus.

"Go make some friends," she told him, walking up to one of the horses herself.

She chose a young mare, still not quite fully grown, to offer her treat to. She had grown up around horses, and these to her were no different, despite the fangs and scaly skin.

It was, in fact a very friendly horse, and it ambled up to her with no problems. She extended her gift, and after only a few moments, the carrot was gone. Carefully reaching up, the young mare let her rub the side of her face, even nuzzling back, and sniffing the air loudly in search of more treats.

Remus, on the other hand, did not have it so easily. He decided on a horse that was standing a bit towards the back, as it was looking at him curiously, almost wanting him to come over.

He stuck his spare carrot in his back pocket, and held the other in one hand, and his wand out and ready to use.

Carefully stepping around fallen branches and piles of horse manure, he noticed that some of the horses were eating something. Several had what looked like birds in their long, sharp jaws, especially mothers, looking for their young to feed. What he missed was that there was now a small herd of colts following him, looking for the food that he had brought. He stopped a generous distance away from the horse that he had in mind to feed, and reached out with the carrot. Fanged jaws swallowed it in one gulp, and he reached into his pocket, only to find the second carrot missing.

Turning around, he saw it in the mouth of the youngest colt.

"All right you little bugger, give that back," he threatened.

One of the other colts attempted to grab it from it's friend's mouth.

"Oi, not you too, that's mine." They paused for a moment, and looked up at him with expressionless white eyes.

Then, the third one bounded over, and made an ungodly shrill screech, like that of some sort of carnivorous bird, almost as though to say, 'I want some too!'.

Remus was now surrounded, and had to call Rose over to help.

She had been busy brushing the mane of her horse, which she had affectionately dubbed Susan, talking to it and carefully keeping any loose hairs.

When she saw Remus' predicament, she laughed.

"I think that they like you," she called, as more horses wandered over to surround him, looking to see what all the commotion was.

"I think that they like my carrots. Pass me a few extra," he responded. She obliged, and soon he was feeding half of the flock out of his hands. He too eventually took a comb, and brushed out as many manes and tails as possible, collecting a hairball the size of a small dog.

The crowd never dissipated. It seemed that they loved the attention that they were getting.

"We have to go Remus," Rose called, eventually.

"All right," he replied, attempting to get out of the crowd as politely as possible."'Scuse me, sorry, coming through."

When he reached the end of the mass, he saw the three young ones sitting on the outskirts of the group, now forced to wait their turn to get to the carrots that Remus had left in the middle. He gave each of them a pat. "Stay out of trouble, boys," he told them.

"You be careful, Sue," Rose told her horse, softly rubbing its nose. "I'll visit you soon," she promised, feeding her the last carrot.

Her horse whinnied softly in reply.

Neither one of them were glad to leave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ellie had been thrilled to leave the abandoned settlement.

It appeared that the merpeople had left after they had been attacked.

Several decaying bodies laid in the muck, making it easy to grab their shiny silver scales. She made James do it, as she was not about to go anywhere near them.

The village itself must once have been some kind of beautiful. There were murals everywhere, some depicting what must have been the giant squid, others what obviously were the merpeople themselves, some with children, or even the sun. One painting showed a strange blue box, and another what was surely Dumbledore, with his silver beard, long hair, and half-moon spectacles.

The houses were built using mud and had seaweed growing from the roofs. Many even had fenced in yards. Yet, it was all abandoned. An underwater ghost town that had been left to rot. The pair of intruders exited the moment that they had what the needed, as their time was running out.

Only twenty minutes left.

Ahead of them now was a large cave, so large that they almost didn't notice that they had almost swum into it, mistaking it for a wall of the lake.

James risked a peek in, and decided that it would be the perfect place to explore, if they weren't on a deadline.

He noticed something moving from inside it, and before he could react, a large tentacle crept out of the darkness towards Ellie, moving slowly, but deliberately. James was close enough to pull her out of the way just in time, as the giant squid came lumbering out of what was surely its den, tentacles splayed everywhere, almost as though it was searching for them, moving slowly and methodically touching the landscape while it still could not see.

The pair quickly dodged and weaved across the clearing, headed for the far side, where a clump of weeds waited to hide them.

They tucked themselves inside, just as the eye of the beast looked out at them. Golden and perfectly spherical, it shone through the darkness, looking for the disturbance that it must have felt.

The pair stayed perfectly still.

Seeing nothing, the tentacles slowly came to a stop, and the squid moved carefully back into its dark home.

James breathed a sigh of relief.

In the grass, it was much darker, and both of them were slightly blinded by the eye of the squid.

"Ouch, James, let my hair alone," Ellie whispered, suddenly, from a few feet away, not wanting to be loud enough to let the squid know where they were.

"I'm not touching you, I'm all the way over here," he replied indignantly, assuming that she was imagining it, curious as to how she sounded like she was far away when she was tightly gripping his shoulder.

"Seriously, knock it off," she replied, sounding like she was beginning to struggle.

"I'm way over here," he insisted.

"Then what the h-"

James lit his wand tip, which he had now since pulled out of his pocket.

"Bloody-"

Surrounding Ellie, and pulling on her golden blonde hair in several directions were a swarm of water demons, grindylows. They had small ugly heads with horns, and pale green skin, along with terribly long and spindly fingers which were not at all unlike spider legs.

When Ellie saw them, she too began cursing and screaming, which made the tiny demons screech in delight.

They swarmed her with deadly precision and began to scratch and bite, dragging her further into the murk.

James could do nothing, as he was suddenly coated in the things too.

Ellie grabbed at her pocket for her wand, and as she pulled it out, a grindylow swept in and emptied all of the rest of the contents.

" _RELASHIO_!" She hollered, sending a boiling jet of water at her attackers, doing what she had learned in defense against the dark arts. Her spell connected, sending several of the demons spinning away. One however, dodged quickly, quite a feat, considering that it was holding a relatively large jar of gillyweed, and was able to open it and shred a whole string and a half of the precious substance before another jet of water could defeat it.

Ellie quickly closed the jar on the one remaining string and firmly shoved it back in its pocket.

James, meanwhile was really struggling.

He had only managed to rip a few of them off and throw them as far as he could (which would have ordinarily been a challenge underwater, but was extraordinarily so with all of the beasts swarming him). Struggling and attempting to avoid being attacked again, the pair ended up back out of the weeds and into the clearing once again, in front of the giant squid den.

This time, the beast had fully shot out within seconds, its enormity overwhelming. It was at least twenty feet long.

With startling speed and accuracy, it began to pluck the grindylows off of James and into its mouth where a huge beak smashed them. It was incredibly careful not to touch James, although the demons only scratched him harder. It gave him the chance that he needed, however, to begin burning them off with his wand, which he did gladly, cursing the creatures as he went.

When the demons were all gone, only the squid remained.

It paused for a moment, and looked them over, deciding whether they needed any further help, and apparently assuming that they would be all right, slowly slunk back into its home.

"Well," blinked James, watching it go. "That was exciting. Although, I suppose I'll be back in the infirmary tomorrow to get patched up."

"Me too," Ellie winced, looking at her legs, which were covered in claw marks.

"Five minutes," James reminded. It would take at least thirty to get back to the dock, and so they would have to hurry if they wanted to make it.

"Oh, here's the extra gillyweed for you. We don't want to run out and have to worry about that later," Ellie said, handing James the only half of a piece that was left.

She had decided to let him have it, and not to tell him yet that she didn't have any more for herself. She didn't want to have to argue with him.

He noticed anyway.

"Where's yours? And what about the rest of it?" He asked, concerned.

"About that..." She began. "A grindylow shredded it. I think that you should take the rest. I'll manage without it," Ellie replied, hoping to dismiss him.

"What?!" James asked, alarmed.

"Don't we have more?"

"No. Look, you need to take this now. We don't have time to argue-"

"Then _you_ take it! You come first."

"James, I can't carry you with me, you'll drown. And besides, air isn't a problem, I can do a bubbleheaded charm. I'll be able to breathe fine. I can trust you to get me up," Ellie insisted.

"Then what is the problem?" James asked, ignoring her faith in him.

"It's the cold. We can't feel it now, but without the gillyweed, we would have already gotten hypothermia and frostbite twelve times over," Ellie replied. "Just warm me up when we get out of the water and I'll be fine. We're running out of time. We need to go. Now."

They began racing back towards the dock, as fast as they could, still arguing along the way.

"Can't you use a spell to stay warm?" James asked, while Ellie pulled ahead, much more used to using the flippers than he was.

"No. I... I can't remember any. Gods, we should have made Rose do this. She would know what to do. Now take that gillyweed before we both drown. There's no way that you're going to be able to force me to eat it." She was still hurrying, now beginning to feel the magic fading. She pushed harder, although her fins began to shrink.

James was only able to catch up to her once the fins were gone completely. She had slowed down, barely able to breathe as her gills left her. She tapped her wand on her head and suddenly surrounded it with a giant bubble of fresh air. It was a neat trick, and James would have asked how it worked on any other day, but he was immediately alarmed by her lips turning blue.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She tried replying, but couldn't through the helmet of air, instead nodding vigorously. She needed him to hurry. Already shaking viciously from the cold, she couldn't move her limbs after only a few minutes of swimming, so she curled up, and he held her while he kicked to the dock, going as fast as his legs could carry him. She wondered if it would take her death for James to _finally_ actually ask her out _._

Her hands began turning blue as frostbite set in. He held her, and wanted to tell her how he felt, but decided that it wasn't exactly the time for confessing love.

Finally, he breached the surface.

"PETER!" He screamed, before going back under for a breath. Peter to his credit must have been waiting patiently and came running, in time for him to pull Ellie out. James waited in the water, and hoped that she was getting warm, but could only come out fifteen minutes later, after his gillyweed wore off. He only had a brief taste of the cold, and it was horrible. His skin felt like he was being stabbed with daggers of ice, and his breath suddenly refused to come. He had trouble getting his hands to work as he scrambled up the ladder and performed a drying spell to get rid of the water. There were loads of towels and blankets waiting, stolen from the laundry, and he bundled up well before meeting his friends at the far end of the dock. Ellie was sitting on a log at a fire with Peter and Sirius, dry, and now apparently warmed, drinking what must have been hot coca, her blonde hair falling down her shoulders over a red blanket, snow flakes just beginning to drop over them.

"How was being a fish?" Sirius asked.

"Not too bad. Although why we couldn't have done this when it was still warm is beyond me," James replied. "You okay?" He asked Ellie.

"Thanks to you," she grinned, offering him the thermos of hot drink. He took it and swallowed it greedily.

When he finally came up for air, he realized that everyone was waiting on him.

"Rose wants us back at the chamber a soon as we can be there," Peter explained.

"Then we'd better not keep her waiting," James replied.

 _Hey guys! What a lovely near-death experience, am I right? Well, just wait, because there's still loads more to come. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: so i had something to write here but i forgot it UGH MY LIFE. oh well thanks for reading and dealing with my shenanigans anyway!_


	22. After School Special

Rose didn't know why she'd put off gathering the ingredients until the last minute.

What she did know was that it had been a bad idea. While everyone else was in bed (everyone in their group having missed dinner to watch her work), they all gathered in the secret chamber.

"Hello, love," Sirius greeted Lupin as he entered, Rose sticking her tongue out at him, and trying to hide her smile when he returned the gesture.

"Everything go well with the lake?" Lupin asked James, ignoring Sirius who walked over to his girlfriend, kissing the top of her head and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Not really. But we got what we came for, and lived to tell the tale. How about you?"

"Is that all you're going to say on the matter?" Ellie asked, walking through the passage behind the rest, having stopped in her dorm to grab a clean towel. "I very nearly _died_. More than once. We were attacked by water demons and the giant squid, we ran out of gillyweed, and I'm covered in cuts, _and_ half frozen. To top it off, I still haven't done Clarkson's essay that's due on Monday," Ellie finished.

"Well, it's a shame that he couldn't see the way you fended off the grindylows. He would have been proud of you," James complimented, putting the wet scales on the desk in front of the cauldrons. "How did your adventure into the woods go?"

"Swimmingly," Rose replied, no pun intended. "We may even have our own pet thestrals now."

"What?" Sirius asked, distractedly.

"They loved us. Half of the herd was following Remus around," she explained, breaking away from Sirius and cleaning the scales off with a polishing cloth. There were more than five, so she picked the best for the potions, and tucked the rest into her pockets. One by one, she put them into their respective cauldrons, and the mixtures inside began to simmer quietly.

Once that was done, she adjusted the heat that they were on with a tap of her wand. She stepped back.

"That's it. By Christmas, we'll be done."

"Brilliant!" Peter replied, speaking for all of them.

"I know I am," Sirius replied. "Thank you for finally acknowledging it."

They all rolled his eyes at him.

"Let's head out for the night. I still haven't dried off from the lake," James requested. He was worried that he was beginning to catch cold.

"Me neither." Ellie agreed. "I am never doing that again!" They began heading back down the tunnel to the common room.

Rose loitered behind, tidying up her workspace. Sirius noticed and helped with what he could. The others were long gone.

"What are you going to do with all of these extra ingredients?" He asked, gesturing to the scales which she was now putting into a vial.

"Save them for a rainy day, I suppose," she shrugged, having no specific plans for the excess.

"Did you ever tell the others about the patronuses?" Sirius inquired, curiously, paging through a book she had left open on the counter.

"No," she replied, closing the ancient hard-cover and taking it out of his hands.

"Why not?" He asked, keeping the distance between them small.

"You know why," she whispered, leaning towards him a bit.

"I think that I can guess," he responded, giving what might have been a smirk.

"Then why do you ask?" She was teasing now, moving back a step.

"Because," he began, leaning in to kiss her. It only lasted a few seconds, before Peter came wandering back in to retrieve a book that he had left behind, exiting quickly, a bit red faced at the intrusion.

They watched him go, and after they were sure that he was gone, both began laughing.

"We're going to have to try to find somewhere more private in the future," Sirius joked.

"More private than the secret chamber of Godric Gryffindor? I doubt a place exists."

The lights dimmed as they exited hand in hand, carrying the textbook that Peter had left behind.

Their futures simmered on a low heat as they exited.

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 _Just a little average potion making and happy relationship chapter for ya. Awkward!Peter may be my new favorite Peter. Anyway, hope you're having a lovely day! THanks for reading and reviewing, and don't let the muggles get you down :)_

 _post edit: wow im such a nerd. This chapter was small but pr cute i think :) smileys look weird in italics. Okay thanks for reading and reviewing! Byeee!_


	23. Oliver, Interrupted

The rest of November was not worth noticing, unless of course, you were Oliver Tray, who did quite a bit of noticing. Also, Rose, who noticed Oliver noticing.

He was beginning to be a bit of a stalker, honestly.

He would follow her out of the great hall after breakfast first thing every morning, trailing the six of them as they walked to Transfiguration, although he was meant to be in Arithmacy clear on the other side of the school.

His tracking would stop afterwards, only to pick up at random times during the day, as though to see that every part of her schedule was clear of suspicion.

And Rose wasn't the only one to know about it. It was the main topic of interest for the entire gang. It constantly worried James, but barely plagued Sirius.

"Don't you think that we should do something?" James had asked, a few days in.

Peter had agreed.

"Yeah, we could tell McGonagall-"

"Absolutely not. If he thinks that we know he's doing it, he'll just get sneakier, and it will be that much harder to track him," Rose had interrupted. "If worse comes to worst, I'll wipe his memory, or give him a false lead. We'll be fine. Just don't talk about anything sensitive outside of the common room. And be careful even then. He could have a Gryffindor spy." Peter paled at the thought and looked around at the fellow Gryffindors at the breakfast table.

Rose realized that she was the most commonly targeted one among them for a reason. He had seen her often leaving from the out-of-order bathroom where she had been keeping their Felix Felicis potion brewing.

A week passed.

The liquid luck would be done brewing by the full moon in two months, she knew, and she had wanted to check on it. She very skillfully lost Oliver through several secret passages before coming to the lavatory, to find that the potion was in perfect order.

She put a lid on the cauldron, planning to remove it that night, and quickly cast a spell to hide the pot of bronzing liquid from anyone who was looking for it. She walked out of the lavatory humming.

Directly into Oliver Tray.

"What the hell are you doing here! Lurking outside the girl's toilets! You have no business-"

He seemed a bit flustered at first, but quickly regained his ground.

"Nor do you! This bathroom is out of service! I've asked..."

Rose did some quick thinking, and quickly did a spell to loosen her tie and undo the first few buttons of her blazer, while he was ranting.

"...And, I'll have you know that you are not the only prefect in our year. Not to mention, Remus Lupin is gone _again_. He went to the infirmary two days ago and he wasn't even sick! He's not there anymore, either. Where did he go? I _know_ that you know!"

Rose paused for a moment to let him finish, then did her best to look startlingly saddened, along with surprised and flustered.

"His gran just died, Oliver. He had to go to the funeral. Shame on you for going off on some conspiracy!" Oliver did not look put out in the least.

"That doesn't explain what's going on with you and the Marauders! You're up to something! I have evidence!"

Rose stared him down, but made a show of fixing the buttons on her blouse, while attempting to seem inconspicuous.

His eyes widened in realization.

"Oliver, are you really going to make me come out and say it? My business is my own. Please stop snooping around in the girl's lavatories, or I'm going to report you."

"You and Black? That's what all of this secrecy is about?"

"And here you thought we were smuggling dragon eggs into the country, didn't you? How adorable," she smirked.

"I didn't- I mean, obviously, no, you weren't sneaking _dragon eggs,_ but I figured that-"

"What, Oliver? I'm sixteen, not a dark warlock. How much trouble can I have gotten into? You're a _Ravenclaw_ for Merlin's sake! Use your head. I may be snogging Sirius in dark corners, but I'm not mixing polyjuice potion."

She turned away and began walking back up towards Gryffindor tower.

 _Polyjuice potion may be a good idea though_ , she thought. _May have to try that next_.

She stopped midway down the hall and turned around, adjusting her tie.

"And Oliver, please stop following my friends and me around. One of these days, I'm going to have no choice but to sic James and Sirius after you."

He was left watching her go. When he was sure that there was no chance of her doubling back, he locked himself in the lavatory, and wasted a good half hour searching for something that he was totally incapable of finding.

Satisfied in the end that she had been (at least partially) telling the truth, he decided to re-evaluate his mental state, as it was frighteningly likely that the stress of the upcoming exams had begun to get to him at last.

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 _Although Oliver might not be cannon from the books, he certainly is fun to write! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: i really love this chapter. Idk why exactly but i do. Thanks for readimg amd reviewing, even through this state of madness!_


	24. Fear Itself

"I just want a damn _normal_ jellybean, can't you just taste a bit of one before I eat the whole thing?" Rose demanded of Sirius.

The Christmas spirit had begun to spread as early as the first week of December, but by now, a majority of the school had only one day left before break.

The marauders had taken over the common room in their final free afternoon.

"If you do insist, my dear," Sirius responded. "I shall accept the challenge of being the royal taste-tester." He began to inspect a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in an attempt to pick out the normal ones.

Ellie was in the corner, studying, with Peter and Remus, the latter of whom was constantly playing catchup to learn everything that he missed while he was out sick.

Ellie had noticed his repetitive illness, but hadn't even begun to guess at his real problem, assuming because of his constant, somewhat sickly appearance that he never quite managed to get healthy before he was once again in the infirmary.

James was daringly eating every flavor of the beans, and coming out surprisingly lucky.

Whenever Sirius found a bad one that was not an appetizing flavor, (like earwax for example), he would pitch it a James who had now accumulated a small pile of rejects.

Rose had gotten only slightly nibbled samples of several typical flavors that Sirius had tasted for her; blueberry, coffee, peach, and mango.

Sirius bit into one and made a puzzled face.

"This one's a bit odd," he said, seeming to be analyzing the flavor. "Give it a try. I think that I'm getting a kind of 'candied apple' vibe."

Rose took it eagerly and popped it into her mouth, biting down immediately. She gagged and nearly threw up, standing to spit what was left of the bean into the fire.

"My god, I think that was _vomit_! I _trusted_ you!" She hollered at Sirius, who along with James was rolling on the floor in laughter. She sat back down and retaliated by throwing a green bean at Sirius who caught it in his mouth.

" _Mmmmm_ ," he grinned. "Kiwi."

"Ugh!" She grumbled, still while smiling. She found it hard to hold a grudge on him.

They began tossing beans to James who caught every one, all of them decently flavoured, until he had a record of fourty-three.

They only stopped because they had their last class before holiday, double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws, and Remus was making them all attend.

Xx

They had been promised a special lesson on the last day before their holiday, and a special lesson was exactly what they got, even if it wasn't quite what they expected.

Professor Clarkson was an average man, who was perhaps in his late thirties, with brown hair that he kept quite short, (although not quite short enough to miss the fact that it was beginning to bald) and a calm way of speaking. He managed to teach the students in what they found to be an exciting way while still managing to get the boring bits learned without too much trouble as well.

It was his third year teaching, but it was rumored that it would be his last, as he planned to take his wife traveling abroad once the year was out. Instead of gathering the class in the usual place today, they were in an old textbook storage room on the third floor.

"All right. I suppose you're all wondering what we're doing down here," he began, leaning against an old cabinet.

The class, even James and Sirius, nodded raptly, paying attention.

"Okay... Let's start with... Does anyone know what a boggart is?"

Several hands from the Ravenclaw house went up, along with Remus, Rose, and Peter's.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"A shape shifter that takes the shape of whatever the person facing it fears the most."

"Excellent. Anything else?"

Rose's was the only hand up now.

"Boggarts thrive in dark places, and no one knows what one looks like when it doesn't take the form of someone's fear. Boggarts are best faced in groups, which the creature finds disorienting, and the charm used against it is 'Riddikulus', which exploits the creature's weakness of laughter," she finished, clearly still trying to scan her brain for anything she missed.

"Perfect. Ten points to Gryffindor. Is there anyone who knows their worst fear and is willing to let the rest of the class in on it?" He asked.

No one raised their hands for quite a while until Ellie sighed boldly and stepped forward.

"Wasps and bees, or anything that stings, really. Swarms of them," Ellie described. There was some snickering from Oliver on the Ravenclaw side of the room, shut up quickly with a muting spell from Sirius.

"Excellent, Ms. Claybourne. When the boggart emerges, it will take the form of a swarm of bees. You should try to picture them as clumping together into shapes or words to make a funny picture. Make them comical. Can you do that?"

Ellie nodded.

"Good. Then say the spell, 'Riddikulus', and the bees should be forced into what you're picturing. Then the next person, from Ravenclaw, will step up and have their go. Everyone got it? Good. If you can't even imagine facing your fear, or don't know what it is and don't want to have to improvise on the spot, move near the door where you won't need to take a turn. Everyone all right?" There was general approval, as the crowd moved into two lines, the professor in the middle, ready to intervene if necessary.

There were a few tense minutes before everyone claimed to be fully prepared.

He pointed his wand at the old cabinet. "Go."

A flood of bees washed into the room, filling the air with a mind-numbing hum. Ellie was able to stop them from getting far at all. Once they were in open air, she pointed her wand and shouted, " _Riddikulus_!"

With a crack that echoed in their ears, the cloud immediately shifted into a very large set of words: " _OH, SHIT_!"

This prompted a few giggles from onlookers. Ellie blushed and glanced at the professor apologetically stepping back, and a girl from Ravenclaw, Geneva Marks, stepped up.

Suddenly, there was a sinister- looking man in a lab coat standing in front of her, menacingly pointing a huge needle towards the class.

" _Riddikulus_!" She called, calmly. CRACK! The doctor's lab coat turned bright pink, causing him to drop his syringe into his own foot. Before he could even scream, Tori, a Gryffindor, had stepped up.

The boggart was now a trio of dogs with golden eyes, coming for her.

" _Riddikulus_!" CRACK! The dogs' legs went out from under them as it looked like they were sliding on ice.

A Ravenclaw that Rose thought might be named Sara stepped up. The shifter morphed painfully into what was most definitely a werewolf, all the signs that they had learned in class showing. Rose felt a twinge of sympathy for it.

" _Riddikulus_ ," Sara trembled as the beast snarled and leapt forward.

CRACK. The werewolf was suddenly looking quite put-out, and was wearing a clown suit.

Next up was James, who set his jaw, as suddenly, the rest of the marauders were all standing in front of him, including Rose and Ellie, all of them smirking in a way that was _very_ wrong for their faces, all of them with fully black eyes, speaking in the same raspy voice, all in unison. "The devil waits patiently, James. Join us, or-" They didn't speak for long enough to finish their sentence however, because with a shout of " _Riddikulus_!", all of them were suddenly in tutus and performing a ballet.

Another Ravenclaw stepped up, this time facing a large metal robot. CRACK. Rusted so it couldn't so much as move.

Next was Alina, from Gryffindor. A tall, handsome man appeared who controlled the shadows of the room, making it suddenly very dark. CRACK! The man was suddenly a small boy, wearing too-large clothes.

Now was Oliver himself, facing... his father? The man looked quite a bit like him.

"Someday, the darkness will claim you Oliver, as it has claimed me. You will be just like me in the end." CRACK! The man's ear was pulled into a vice-like grip by an elderly woman. "No dessert for a month, Alfie!"

Ruby stepped up, and a group of government soldiers ran into formation. CRACK! They turned into monkeys wearing bullet-proof vests.

Next came Ravenclaw, with the Bloody Baron, one of the castle's many ghosts. CRACK! He was suddenly bobbing on the ceiling, stuck like a balloon.

A Gryffindor with a massive T-rex. CRACK! It was trying to do a pushup and had gotten stuck on its nose.

Now a Ravenclaw and a massive orangutan with a large circular face. CRACK! The beast was now made entirely out of fruit.

Remus was next, and the room froze. They were all looking at a very large silvery orb.

" _Riddikulus_!" He shouted, his wand hand shaking. CRACK! The orb deflated like a ball with a hole in it.

A Ravenclaw with a massive lion. CRACK. Now a small, yellow balloon animal.

Now Sirius, palms sweating, looking particularly defiant.

A woman appeared in front of him, shrieking about all sorts of things, mudbloods, and traitors and filth, about Regulus, and the ungrateful slime that was her other son. CRACK! The woman now had a large mustache and spoke with a heavy Indian accent, making her curses almost indistinguishable. The class giggled at her.

Then a Ravenclaw, who saw a drooling and babbling elderly person, strapped into a wheelchair. CRACK! The old woman was made of marshmallow.

There were a few that Rose didn't pay attention to.

Then the only two left in line were Peter, and another Gryffindor, Frank Longbottom, neither wanting to go last. They both lunged forward, confusing the boggart into attempting to morph into two things at once; Frank's headless corpse, and Peter's giant slug. The result was unprecedented, but also hilarious. A giant, headless slug.

As almost everyone in the class laughed, the boggart made a popping noise, and disappeared with a finality.

"Well! Excellent job, all of you! Have a good break, and remember that we only have about five months left until exams! Stay safe, and make good choices!"

The class broke off into groups, and Rose made the mistake of taking a few moments extra to search her bag for a book that she wanted to read as they walked back to the common room.

"Rose, are you alright? I noticed that you didn't have a go at the boggart," Professor Clarkson asked, packing his bag too.

"Oh, yes, quite. I just didn't exactly know what form it would take. I didn't want to risk it being something bizarre, I suppose."

"All right, then. If you ever figure it out for sure and want a go with one of the things, let me know. There's plenty of places in the world that could use a laugh. Have a good break."

"Thank you. You too, professor," she replied.

But she was most definitely _not_ okay. She of course had known _exactly_ what her fear was, and how it would most likely present itself, and she did not want to have to face it in front of the rest of the school.

Also, Sirius' worst fear had worried her. She hadn't known that things had been that bad in his home, with his mother...

On top of that, as she realized at dinner, the professor had not been the only one to notice that she hadn't wanted to face the boggart. James thought that he was being sly by picking it up.

"So, Miss Bennett. Any reason why you didn't conquer your fears like a true Gryffindor today?" He asked.

"Dunno. Didn't feel like it, I suppose." She responded, sullenly cutting into her roast beef.

"Aw, come off it, what're you so worried about?" He pressed.

She looked up slowly, straight into his eyes.

"I guess it's just hard trying to think of a comedic twist to seeing all of your friends lying dead at your feet," she lied.

James immediately blushed. Two of the others took it as truth. Two didn't.

"Jeez, I'm really sorry," James apologized.

She sighed deeply.

"It's okay. You didn't know. Sometimes it's just better to let it alone," she replied.

Ellie looked at her friend, and knowing what her true fears were, decided to try to comfort her later, when the boys were gone.

The second person who could sense the dishonesty was Sirius. He knew how it was when Rose lied; very artistic. How she brushed away the conversation to get around the truth. How she kept it very detailed and as plausible as possible.

It was not only curiosity, but care that led his resolve to discover what her true fears were. But not here, or now. Rose's mood improved by the time desserts were done, and she was only a little less energetic than usual as she said goodbye to all of the rest of the Gryffindors who were leaving for break that night. Their potion would be done on the day after Christmas. There wasn't much left to do about it.

Xx

That evening, Sirius disappeared for a few minutes, returning only to retrieve Rose, before the pair disembarked again, armed with an invisibility cloak.

Since the two who hadn't wanted to talk about the boggart left, the rest were now able to discuss freely.

"Slugs, Peter! Really? I never knew... It's a bit of a pansy-ass fear in all honesty," James remarked.

"Be nice. At least his made sense. Unlike yours," Ellie responded.

"Possession by the devil is _terrifying_. You never know, that could actually happen. Man-sized slugs on the other hand..."

"It's reasonable! All you'd have to do is put an engorgement charm on one and then it would be massive. How were you going to get rid of it, Peter?" Remus asked, defending his friend.

"Turning it into gelatin," Peter responded seriously, making the rest of the group crack up.

"What about you Remus? Why do you fear the moon?" Ellie asked.

The rest of the group immediately silenced.

James looked like a deer frozen in front of headlights, but Remus simply turned his head to the side a bit.

"You mean, Rose didn't tell you?" He asked, surprised.

"Tell me what?" Ellie asked.

Remus looked around to find an empty common room and decided it was safe.

"I think she really ought to know why you're doing this, don't you?" He asked.

The other two nodded solemnly. It was only a matter of the fact that everyone had forgotten (or not found it their place) to tell Ellie about Remus. They all knew for certain that they could trust her to know.

"Well, I'm totally against the whole animagus thing, as you know. But Peter and James and Sirius are only doing it for me. See, it's because-you might not take this very well, but I really do trust you, El."

"Are you sick? What is it? Some kind of infection?" Ellie asked. She'd heard of someone who'd gotten an infected doxy bite and had died very young after years of sickness.

"Well, I suppose you could say so. I've got a very serious and specific type of infection, called lycanthropy," he watched her eyes pop open, suddenly alert, her head cock to the side to ask if it was what she thought it was. "Yes, I am a werewolf. They, _that is_ James and Sirius, wanted to keep me company while I'm changed, and being an animagus is the only safe way to do it, really. Peter disagreed entirely and only came along because they did, but all the same..."

Ellie's eyes went wide.

"Oh Merlin. You're kidding!"

She was expecting them to be joking.

"Dead serious, I'm afraid," James answered.

"Well. That does make sense. I wish that you'd told me sooner," she said.

"You're not upset?" Peter asked, curiously. "Or afraid?"

"Well, I'm quite within reason. But I trust you, Remus. If you've kept this quiet for so long, I'd expect you're quite safe," she surmised.

"Well, yes. I'm very careful. And Dumbledore has helped quite a bit. You really can't tell a soul, though," Remus asked, now more than a little worried.

"I won't. I swear." Ellie promised, looking into his eyes to try to show how sincere she was.

"Thank you." Remus smiled. "Anyone up for a game of Gobstones?"

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 _Hello fair readers! How are you on this fine day? I'm doing quite well, thank you!_

 _So I've gotten a few questions as far as format goes, and I'd like to start for apologizing. Because I type this on my phone, it makes the spaces and such weird, and I've literally spent hours trying to figure out how to fix it, but no beans. I think its because my browser is very outdated. Sorry about that :'(. But anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! I love hearing from you guys! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _Post edit: hehe im just now remembering that i left this one to end on a cliffhanger. But dont worry, the next chapter will hopefully be up soon! Thanks again for reading and reviewing!_


	25. Trust

Rose didn't say anything as Sirius guided her by hand up to one of the tallest parts of the castle, and didn't speak until she began to get lost.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, a bit quietly, tired from a long day of excitement, followed by two hours slaving over the hot potions.

He stopped in a random classroom and wove his wand, as a trapdoor appeared, with a rope ladder.

"Somewhere you've never been before," he grinned.

They climbed up the ladder carefully, and found themselves in one of the towers, completely secret, with a huge window looking out onto the grounds. There were a few blankets waiting for them, and they cuddled up in front of the window, watching snow fall and owls slowly swooping through the night. Sirius pulled out a thermos of hot cider for them that he had gotten from the kitchens.

"I don't want to upset you. But I do want to know why you lied to James at dinner, Rose," Sirius began, after a while.

"Well you can't have one without the other, but I suppose I would have eventually have gotten to telling you anyway. I just... I just can't tell if what we have is going to last, that its not too good to be true... This isn't something that I would tell to just anyone. I suppose that that's the problem in the first place," she trailed off, watching an owl flying off with a large parcel.

He knew that she was't trying to change the subject, but he also knew that it needed to be discussed.

"Rose, I know I'm a bit..."

"Rogue? Wild?" She suggested, smiling at him.

"I was going to say hard to pin down. But all right. If you insist."

She laughed a bit. He felt comfortable having her leaning against him, her warmth and softness. He liked it.

"But, I really _do_ love you. And I'm sixteen, so maybe 'love' isn't the right word. Maybe I shouldn't mean it, because most sixteen year olds don't, but I _do_. I love everything about you. And believe me, I've noticed everything. The way that you brush your hair out of your eyes when you're nervous. How you love fruit, especially oranges. How when you wear your glasses, you adjust them by wiggling the side, even if they're on perfectly. But you only wear them if you don't have anything important to do during the day. _God_ , I've never felt like this with a girl. I'm _obsessed_. The only way to explain it would have to be love. And it's not just that. I ache when I'm not around you. I miss you. It's like I'm constantly gravitating towards you. It kind of sucks because I can't focus. Not on school, not on exams. Especially not on James, and you can imagine how well that goes over with him." She laughed. "But I can't imagine this going away. How many people marry who they're with when they're sixteen? How many sixteen year olds are in love? I don't know. I just don't know," he finished.

"Gods, that was _incredibly_ beautiful. Just... Sirius, I hope to god that you're telling the truth. Because, honestly, no one I've been with has made me feel the way I do with you. You took the words out of my mouth. I just feel... _Completed_. Like someone finally understands me. Like I have a best friend who I can stay with for the rest of my life if I want to. Which makes my fear all the more real, I suppose," she looked into his eyes.

They were a stark grey, glowing with wand light. He was handsome, and clever, and funny, and kind, one of her closest friends. And he loved her. She loved him, but...

"It's okay if you don't tell me. But it won't change my opinion of you if you do," he whispered, taking her hand. Her eyes too, were illuminated by their wands, hazel, an in-between color, the green now prevailing over the brown. She looked scared. She never before had seemed so worried to him. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

He knew how hard it was to face fears.

She reached over and pulled him into a hug, and he held her quietly, until she put her head on his shoulder.

"I want you to know that it's not your fault. It's silly, really. I don't know... Well, yes I do. What I fear most... It's intimacy. I never said, well, because I feel like you wouldn't want someone who doesn't want to... You know. It's humiliating. And it's not you. Because I love you. I really, honestly do. I'm just... Not ready for that kind of commitment yet." She was nervous with emotion, mostly just feeling stupid, holding him and hoping that his reaction didn't match his history. His chest rose and fell as he breathed, and slowly his hands began to rub her shoulders comfortingly.

"Rose. My perfect Rose..." He whispered. He breathed in the scent of her hair, flowery and delicious. Soon her breathing slowed, and she felt much better. Without so much as seeing his face, she could tell that he wasn't about to let her go.

"It doesn't change anything for me. You mean more to me than that. I never wanted-. Well, I wasn't going to push you. And I still won't. If it means I have to wait until we're married, then so be it. I just don't want to lose you. To anything. Especially something stupid like that."

She nuzzled into his chest, taking in a deep breath of the way he smelled.

"Thank you. Just... Thank you, Sirius."

"All in a day's work," he whispered, making her laugh. They savored the feeling of their togetherness for a few minutes.

Then he started laughing, softly.

"What?" She asked, looking up into his eyes with curiosity.

"Promise you won't be offended?"

"I make no promises. What?" She demanded. There was no chance of arguing now.

"You are actually the last person I'd expect to have that fear."

"Are you calling me-?"

"No, no. _Merlin_ , no," he backtracked. "But, you flirt so much, Miss Bennett. You're practically asking for it."

"Oh, gods. Well, its usually an accident. I'll have to work on that."

They laughed and settled down a bit. He poured them the apple cider.

"Oh, wait, let me show you the reason why I dragged you all the way up here."

He waved his wand, and the roof retracted, leaving a large window revealing the stars. A meteor shower was beginning.

She looked up and gasped.

"It's beautiful."

"So are you."

"Shut up," she teased, smiling.

"Shut up yourself," he replied.

"Ugh, you're going to be the death of me."

"Not if you've already killed me, love," he replied.

"It's too late for that, you've already stolen my heart. And I can't function without it," she replied.

Then they were laughing under the sparse moonlight. They gazed up at the stars for a while longer, enjoying each other and their solitude.

"Sirius... I'm worried about you. About your family." She confessed.

He surprised her, by laughing a bit.

"Well, don't be. My family is a hundred miles away. They can't touch me for months. It's the best Christmas gift ever, really. Getting to stay here with my friends. With you."

Rose smiled, but continued to look up at the sky.

"I wish that we could come up here every night."

"We can, while we're on break. If you want to, that is."

The silence was comfortable, until Sirius broke it, by again laughing quietly.

"What?" Rose asked, startled.

"No, you'll think I'm an arse." He replied, still chuckling a little.

"I already _know_ you're an arse." She replied. "What is it?"

"I just- your boggart. Thank Merlin you didn't face it. Can you imagine?" He laughed.

"Oh Gods, that would have been awful. In front of _Oliver_ no less."

She laughed. And they kept up until it was time to head back to the common room, Sirius doing bad impressions of himself, Rose laughing until she was in tears.

From that point on, when she faced a boggart, it wasn't anything to do with Sirius.

But it was almost exactly what she had described to her friends at dinner, that they all lay dead before her.

The only difference was that she was the one to have killed them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxx

 _Hello out there! So I'm not entirely sure what happened the last time I posted a chapter but something went terribly wrong and this bit got skipped. Oh well. Here it is now. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for reading and reviewing! and Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: OKAY SO I FORGOT HOW CUTESEY THIS CHAPTER WAS, MERLIN, I LOVE IT. Look at me. Being soooooooo humble. Well, anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing and for coping with all the feels._


	26. White Christmas

This year was a white Christmas.

Or perhaps _worse_ than a white Christmas, featuring the kind of blizzard that made you question whether it would ever be warm again. Cutting through courtyards to get to places was no longer even feasible, as the snow was deeper than all but Hagrid could wade across.

The last few days before Christmas were spent doing what Sirius called,"spreading holiday cheer". The remaining students helped to decorate the school as magically as they could, although it was perhaps their enthusiasm that made it certain that the teachers decorated alone for the future years.

James and Sirius were responsible for setting a small blizzard in the corridor outside the Slytherin common room that rivaled the real one, giving Severus Snape frostbite in his fingers as he tried to stubbornly cross it. It took Dumbledore to remove, although, he did leave a light flurry. Ellie was the one who enchanted the suits of armor to sing her favorite carols as people passed (although they didn't get the words quite right and tended to be rather monotonous). Rose found a way to grow real icicles around the banisters and trees that Hagrid brought inside.

Peter aggravatingly charmed some mistletoe to chase around couples, which turned out to be a terrible idea, as it meant that every few moments, Sirius would exclaim in surprise about the plant that he had apparently never noticed before, and kiss his girlfriend.

"We must stay in the holiday spirit, after all," he would say. It got old before it even started, and although Peter couldn't figure out how to reverse the spell, James settled the matter (after Sirius suggested that he should get himself a girlfriend and do the same) by lighting the mistletoe on fire, which resulted in a much more entertaining reaction from Sirius.

In retaliation for nearly singeing off his eyebrows, Sirius set a spell on Ellie's curly blonde hair that turned it completely black, and whenever he walked past her, he would hum "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones, his favourite wizarding band. Rose managed to convince him to change it back after two days of persuasion.

Remus was beginning to fall ill again, but in the meantime he managed to trick the house elves in the kitchens to feed Oliver Tray nothing but poached eggs over the entire break. It was beautiful.

Other than that, the days leading up to Christmas came and went without trouble, (although Oliver was beginning to go on hunger strike for better food).

Christmas Eve dinner had been somewhat uncharacteristically quiet. Although full of delicious puddings and pies (but not for Oliver), none of the marauders dared eat a thing. They hardly bothered to pull wizard crackers, although Peter ended up with a new toad (which was all the rage). No one bothered to so much as joke about turning it into a tadpole once.

Part of the reason why the Gryffindor table was so silent was because they were all terribly worried. That evening would be the moment that they would, at last, take the potion, and hopefully become full animagi. But, it was not going to be a seamless operation. Chances were, at least from what Rose gathered, that it would be extremely painful. They were presently in the process of fasting, and all of them hoped that none of the teachers would notice, and question their strange eating behavior.

As it happened, one did. The girls had waited to stay a moment longer with their friends.

"Gentlemen, wait just a moment. Why didn't you boys eat any of your supper?" Professor McGonagall asked, following the boys out of the great hall after their meal (or lack thereof).

"They-we all, that is to say, spent the entire afternoon raiding the kitchens, Professor," Remus supplied, with the perfect amount of sheepishness to make them seem guilty of the crime. James faked an upset stomach and Sirius grinned proudly. Peter stood, still shell shocked by her sudden appearance.

"I suppose Miss Bennett and Miss Claybourne accompanied you?" McGonagall inquired.

Remus nodded.

"Well, then, you'll have to be more careful of your eating habits, won't you? And keep out of the way of the elves, they do tend to get carried away if their orders are too flamboyant." The professor gave a rare smile, seemingly lost in fond memories. "Have a Merry Christmas, boys."

"You too, Professor," they chorused, not quite believing their good luck.

"What was _that_ all about?" Ellie asked, coming up behind them.

"Remus just saved us from McGonagall," James replied. The girls fell into step with him. Sirius and Remus were behind them, discussing whether changing the only food that Oliver was served into haggis would improve his situation or not. Peter dragged behind, weighted by an important decision he was on the verge of making.

He had decided by the time they made it back to Gryffindor's chamber.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm _not_ doing this." Peter announced boldly.

"What?" James asked, distractedly watching Ellie roll up her sleeves.

" _This_. I'm not becoming an animagus."

By now Sirius had turned to listen, Rose at his heels watching anxiously.

"Come off it, Peter. Of course you are." Sirius replied incredulously.

"No. I'm not." Peter's quiet demeanor was gone. Instead, he was standing on his own, firm about what he had decided to do.

"Yes, you _are._ " Sirius replied, being as intimidating as he knew how to be.

The girls stayed back.

This argument was for the friends, the original marauders, to hash out. Rose had the distinct feeling that she had at least a part in the cause of this outbreak.

"No. I'm done with you, Sirius."

"Listen here-"

"No, Sirius, let him talk."

It was Remus, standing to join the circle facing Peter. Something had changed in him, something sparking, almost like a frenzied fear, an animal too cautious about being caught and killed, perfectly ready to fight if it was the only way out.

Peter trembled at the sight of all his friends standing against him, then thought of what he endured, about what Magda, his _almost_ girlfriend, had told him in Hogsmeade the week before.

 _"Peter. I really would like to date you, but you never do anything except cling to Sirius and James. You don't have_ time _for dating me. And even if you did, you still let them treat you like dirt. Take a stand for yourself for once. Then come find me."_ It had stung, but it was true.

He swallowed and did his best to look Sirius in the eye.

"Look. I'm tired of being treated badly. Sirius, everything that comes out of your mouth is an insult. James, you never stop bragging. And both of you, since you met them-" he gestured to the girls. "You wont so much as talk to me. I've always been on the outside, and I'm done with it. I want my own life. I want to be your friend, but really, choose. Me or them."

"Peter," James started. "You're being unreasonable. We can't choose. They are with us now. Marauders."

"Then maybe I don't want to be a marauder any more!"

The stunned look on the faces of his friends made him wonder if he had gone too far.

"Peter, please, you're doing this for _me_ -"

"Remus, I _want_ to help you, I really do, but you're asking for too much! You know how dangerous this is. One wrong move, and I'm like- like _you_ , for the rest of my life!" Remus' newly sympathetic gaze turned cold.

"If I ever hear you talk to him like that again, you dirty little TRAITOR-" Rose pulled Sirius back, as he plunged forward after Pettigrew.

Peter stepped back and hung his head. He whispered.

"You know it's true..."

This time it was James who looked like he wanted to punch Peter.

He held himself back, barely, hands shaking.

"Peter... Are you... Are you sure?"

"I can't even look at you without feeling _sick_. I know what real friends are now, and I don't want to be around you any more." Peter stuck his chin in the air, and Sirius made a disgusted noise.

"You traitor! You scoundrel, you've always been a useless piece of garbage. Go, then. We don't want you. You're worthless, you stupid-" Rose urgently stood on toe and pulled his ear down to whisper something into it. Sirius promptly went white, and turned too look into her eyes, appearing for a moment that he might turn on her, but she held his gaze. He paled a bit more and backed down, giving her an apologetic look before giving Peter the evil eye.

"Speaking to Remus like that was rude. Do it again and you might find it harder to speak enough to make insults," Sirius threatened.

"I just want you to leave me alone. And I don't want to be an animagus. That's all."

James glanced at the cauldrons in the corner, and back at his remaining friends.

"We want to talk about it," James replied, sighing heavily.

"Fine. I'll stay in the side chamber. Do your fancy little silencing charm to keep me from eaves dropping if you must. Merry jinxing Christmas." He slammed the door behind him, and they did just that.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Well. That chapter happened. I feel like I wanted to get Pettigrew out of the picture, so that he can't betray everyone in the future so that maybe we can get some happy endings this time around. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: kinda questioning my motives for ditching peter here, but i have a really great arc and some interesting ideas for him in the future. Thanks for sticking with it thus far!_


	27. Sympathy for the Devil

"Am I the only one who feels like this is all my fault?" Ellie asked, breaking the angry silence.

Sirius glared at the door as though willing it to set fire, while Remus sat darkly in a corner, deep in thought.

"If it was anyone's fault, it was probably mine," Rose replied.

"It _wasn't_ anyone's fault," James reasoned.

"Except Peter's," Sirius shot, angrily.

"Well, _yes_ , I suppose so," James replied, with a sigh.

"' _I know what true friends are'_ my ass. We've always been true friends to him. Let him hang out with us even though he didn't fit in. Defended him from Snape. Let him copy our essays. And now just because he's not the center of attention any more, he wants to _leave_?" Sirius ranted.

"It isn't just that. This whole thing comes from Magda Crem. And she hates all of us. She's been hanging out with him a lot... I'd wonder if there's something between them." Ellie mused.

"It doesn't matter. I don't care that he's insulted my pride, or that he wants to go. He knows too much. Just because he's bound not to tell about the animagus, he can still tell the teachers that James knows something and they can force it out of him. Slughorn has a stock of Veritaserum, I'll bet. If we make him angry, it could all be _over_ ," Sirius ranted.

"What are you suggesting?" James asked. Rose was the first to reply.

"Memory charm. Get rid of the memories that he has of this place, and even of Remus' secret too."

"Isn't that dangerous?" James asked.

"Not as dangerous as him walking around with all of our lives at stake. Plus, with Ellie doing it, it will be completely humane. We'll have to use his own wand though, just in case, and he won't be able to hang around any of us, because it might trigger him to remember."

"He won't be able to so much as stay in your dormitory. Do you think that you can do to him whatever you did to get Frank moved out?" Ellie asked.

"Depends," Sirius answered. "Longbottom _requested_ to be moved."

He smiled a bit, recalling all of the torment that Frank had endured before McGonagall had finally relented and let him have his own dormitory.

"I can get Peter to do that," Ellie confirmed. James doubted them.

"Wait just a moment. Isn't this going too fast? Peter is our _friend_. He's probably just going through some stuff, scared or-"

"I say we get rid of him." Remus stood, surprising everyone. "He never fit in or added anything to the group. All he wanted was to be cool. _Popular_. And now... You heard what he thinks of me. If he doubts himself and lets anyone know about what I am, I'll be gone faster than you can blink. No education, no _magic_... Nothing. He doesn't care about me, so I can't afford to care about him. I say that he goes."

James looked at Remus with pain in his eyes. He watched the rest of the group. Rose reached out to Remus, but he turned away, rubbing his forehead. Sirius looked determined, Ellie fearful.

"And he can stop taking the animagus potion without any ill effects?" James conceded.

"Yes," replied Rose. "Its lucky he chose tonight. On any other day, he would have had to keep going until now, and after tonight, it would have been too late."

"What if he says no?" Sirius asked hopefully, wanting to hex him.

"Then we tell him he has to take the potion." James replied, sighing. He turned to Remus.

"All right then. Let him out."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Peter was thrilled. Not just in the good way, though. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, his breathing wheezing more than it ever had before. But he was also entirely sure that he was making the right decision. From what Magda told him, all five of the others were in for some serious trouble from the Witches, and the only way to get away from them was to end their already broken friendship.

Perfect.

The marauders talked for a long time. Longer than he had expected them to. They must be arguing.

He squirmed in his seat, a disused armchair, while he suddenly wondered which of his old friends had stood up for him. Definitely not Sirius or Remus, but James, perhaps. Surely James would try to sort things out. Sometimes people who were a little overconfident were also kind, weren't they?

The door opened, and Remus' glare immediately silenced any doubts that Peter may have been having. His eyes were dark and cold, looking murderous.

"Come on, Peter. We're ready."

He noiselessly followed Lupin out of the room to where the others were waiting.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

They stood in a semi-circle facing Peter, not one of them looking very pleased.

"Peter. Can you tell us why you're mad at us?"

"I already did."

"Yes," James replied impatiently. "But nothing else?"

"No. I just want to be left alone. I've changed, and I don't want to be the worst at everything any more," Peter explained, as though teaching arithmacy to a toddler. James tried hard not to be insulted.

"Well that doesn't change the fact that he still _is_ ," Sirius muttered, just loud enough for Remus to hear.

"All right. And you're sure that you want to go? There will be absolutely no coming back from this," James inquired.

"More sure than I've ever been in my life," Peter replied, again with his chin in the air. "I never want to so much as _see_ you again."

"Well then. We've agreed to let you go, under one condition. If you don't agree, then you have to take the potion with the rest of us. But I really think that its the only way," James explained.

"Only way? What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Peter suddenly seemed jittery again.

"You know too much about us. About Remus. We can't risk that information being found out. We want to wipe your memory, but you can still stay if that's what you choose."

"There's no way in _hell_ that I'd stay here." Peter immediately looked alarmed by James' options, and knew that if he did choose the latter and stayed... Things weren't the same anymore. Remus knew how he really felt about him, Sirius never forgave anyone easily. Even James looked angry.

He had dug himself into a hole, and there was no way out of it. And like any lesser trapped animal, he panicked.

"Let me out. Right now. Or- I'll, I'll go and find McGonagall."

Ellie could see the fear in his beady eyes, and she was the only one between him and the exit.

"Peter-"

"Move Ellie," Peter tried to push past, but she blocked the way.

He tried pulling her away.

"I'm not afraid to hit a girl. Let me out," Peter threatened, voice trembling, glaring at Ellie.

"Keep your hands off of her," James threatened quietly from behind Peter. It only served to scare him more.

He kept trying to get past, horribly panicked, and after a moment, he charged. Or he meant to. Ellie had gone as far as to cringe and brace for impact, when James pulled on the back of his robes, using Peter's momentum against himself, swinging him around to face him, and punching him in the eye.

Peter broke down into a blubbering slump, which Sirius prodded with his toe. James' hands were still clenched into fists.

"I've _asked_ you to listen, and I've _asked_ you to take the deal, but I _told_ you to stay away from Ellie. You know, you miserable vomitous mass, I was on your _side_. I _defended_ you. I _trusted_ you. But now..."

"Please James. Please. I just want to go. I won't tell anyone anything. I swear."

"I might have trusted you before you turned out to be such slime," James said, disgusted, saddened. "Give me your wand Peter. And consider yourself lucky that you don't have to remember tonight, when everyone who cared about you lost their faith."

Peter did not want to turn in his wand. He knew that by then it would all be over.

He hesitated for a moment, pulling it out, and then whipped it around and pointed it at James.

 _"EXPELLIA-"_

 _"PETRIFICUS TOTALLUS."_

Ellie's spell froze Peter's limbs to his side and locked his body as stiff as a board. She nudged him with her toe.

"Sorry, but I didn't know what he was about to hit you with, James. I just didn't want anybody hurt," Ellie apologized.

"Its fine," James replied, glaring at the paralyzed Peter. "Here's his wand."

"Thanks." Rose promptly put Peter into a deep sleep.

It took Ellie about twenty minutes to do the delicate work of altering the memories, erasing his friends from his life, not completely, but enough so that he might not realize that they had once been incredibly close, making them strangers, even on the line of tormentors.

She added suggestions too, like that he should swear dedication to Magda Crem, and that he needed to change dormitories immediately. That his now swollen black eye was from walking into a door handle, and that he hated James Potter and Sirius Black with all his heart.

Xx

When she was done, she made Sirius return Peter to the dormitory that Frank Longbottom (who was on holiday in France) shared with two other random boys, while James moved his trunks and other belongings to meet him there.

They stared for a moment at one of their best friends lying unconscious, with a nasty bruise forming where he had been punched.

"I dunno why I feel so bad about this," Sirius said, fending of the silence that was threatening to overtake them. "I never really liked him."

"I don't think that _I_ did either. I think it might be pity. I bet that its just that we've spent so much time with him that we must miss him."

"I still want to hex him."

"Sirius, you _can't_ hex him."

"Why _not,_ exactly?"

"Cause he won't remember being hexed. It could undo his memory wipe," James reasoned.

"Well, at least _you_ got a good punch in," Sirius allowed.

"I wonder what animal he would have changed into," James wondered, as they made their way down the dormitory stairs.

Sirius thought for a moment as he opened the door to the secret tunnel.

"Probably some kind of vermin. Maybe a cockroach."

The common room was still empty, the fire dead in the grate as it closed behind them.

"Hey, that talk of animagi reminds me. What did Rose whisper to you to make you stop yelling at him?" James asked, curious.

Sirius turned to reply before continuing down to the hallway.

"She told me that that was exactly what my mother would have said."

James followed after a moment of standing in shock.

"And she was exactly right, as per usual. She knows how things are at home, and she knows that I never want to be like my mother."

"You won't be, Sirius, you already aren't-"

"Yes, I am. I'll always be like her, at least a little bit. But I want to be... More than that. I want to be compassionate, loving, accepting. But tonight..." He shook it off. "Rose was right. I'm just glad its over." There was a pause. They walked down the hall, runes glowing in the light, as both boys actually took the time to look at them for once. Usually they were too busy talking or joking to notice.

"Well, what I was _going_ to say was that you're _far_ too hideous to be related to that woman. But if you want to talk about your behavior, then fine. I didn't even manage to keep my temper, and he was saying the more insulting things to you. Sirius, you're the best mate I've ever had, and I _know_ you. You're _nothing_ like _her_. You chose your own path, and here you are. We all think you're smashing. So don't look so down."

"Thanks, mate."

"Don't thank me. I've probably just consoled you to get you closer to taking a death potion that I commissioned."

"Look on the bright side. At least we get to die among friends," Sirius grinned.

"I'll toast to that," James laughed.

"Toasting using a death potion? Seems a bit modernized," Sirius replied.

"Well, it beats toasting to Christmas," James defended.

"Nothing beats Christmas!" Sirius gasped, looking scandalized. They finally made it to the door. Sirius turned the golden handle, and held the door as James entered the room. Both of them were grinning.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxx

 _So, just a bit of bros James and Sirius. Also, you should note that if you read the earlier chapter with Sirius' birthday, I wrote that long before the actual date was released, and I think I've ranted about this before but now its not accurate and it makes me sad :'(. Anyway, Thanks again for reading and for all of the great reviews. Don't let the muggles get you down!_

 _post edit: WOW OKAY, I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON, LEAVING YOU ON THIS CLIFFHANGER FOR LIKE FOUR MONTHS, I AM SO SO SORRY, I WILL POST THE NEXT BIT IN A FEW DAYS AT LONGEST, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE!_


	28. The Night of Nights

"I'm going first, and you lot aren't to start until I've finished."

The room burst into argument.

"Rose, _no_ , be serious-"

"Absolutely not-"

"What do you think, we're some kind of idiots, just going to let you-"

She waved her wand and muted them.

"No. If something goes wrong, I can't let it happen to you. This potion is my responsibility. A captain has to go down with her ship."

Sirius broke the charm.

"Absolutely not. Rose, if something does go wrong-"

"Then you go straight to Dumbledore. You conjure me a stretcher and take me right to the Headmaster's office. The password is 'candy floss'. One of you run for Pomfrey and another to McGonagall. You don't take no for an answer. James can break the charm and tell Dumbledore what happened."

"Rose, I won't let you."

"Sirius, you don't _let_ me do anything. I do what I want. Now if I have to stun you, or tie you to a chair, I _will_ do it. But I'm taking this potion first, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Want to bet? I don't think I-"

James put a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Come on, mate. We don't have all night, and she's not backing down. Odds are she'll be fine. And if she's not, then we have to be here for her. It's the best plan,"

Sirius clenched his jaw, but put his hands up in surrender.

"All right. Fine. You've got me."

Rose smiled a little bit sadly.

The bubbling cauldrons had been replaced by four goblets that somehow still radiated heat. Rose looked at them, nervously.

Remus came up beside her.

"This is awfully brave of you," Remus began.

"I'm ninety percent sure that this is totally right. Bravery is usually on one's side when the odds are good," she stated.

"Still." He replied, shrugging. "Good luck." He offered her a hand. She hugged him instead.

"Thank you, Remus."

James came up and pulled her in tight for a bear hug.

"I _know_ you did this right, Rose. Don't sweat it."

Always next to James came Sirius.

"Gods, I wish you would listen to me for once."

"I listen to you a lot," she replied.

He shook his head, hiding a grin.

"Not what I meant. But Rose, you had better be right."

"I'm always right."

He couldn't wait any longer, and pulled her in for a kiss.

She hoped it wouldn't be their last.

Ellie came a moment later. She was shaking a bit.

Rose hugged her tightly.

"Listen, if I'm about to die, Ells, I need you to look out for Sirius and the rest. And tell my parents and my grandparents and all of my family that I love them. Tell my friends that I'll miss them. Tell Oliver Tray that I hate him, and hex off Vanessa Riddle's nose in my honor. Make sure it's permanent. And you... Gods, Ells, we've had the best times. So many years. Thank you for that by the way."

"Don't mention it. It was my genuine pleasure," Ellie replied, looking close to tears.

"Good. Well, if I do die, goodbye. And since I probably have just wasted everyone's time, thank you for listening. And thanks to you lot for making this year the best of my life."

There were several mutters of thanks and welcomes.

Rose picked up her bubbling chalice. The potion smelled like her, vanilla and mint. It was colored a deep brown, like dark chocolate, and seemed like it was the same texture as chocolate fondue.

She took a deep breath, flashed a grin at her friends, and brought the heavy metal cup to her lips. She began to drink, aiming to finish the whole thing in one go.

While everyone was busy watching her, Sirius slipped away to the table and picked up his goblet, downing it before anyone could stop him.

He finished a moment after Rose did. Caught in the act.

"Sirius, no! What the hell are you thinking, you could- oh!"

She had begun to feel very strange, indeed.

It felt as though her insides were liquidizing. She fell to her knees and began to shake uncontrollably.

Sirius moved to join her side instantly, although he too was on the ground in a moment, before he reached her.

Her shaking continued, but as she shook, her body began to do strange things. While her clothes receded, she sprouted deep brown fur that matched her hair, which shortened while her nose grew long. Her body got much smaller, and a tail sprouted behind her legs.

In a matter of moments, a brown dog was lying on the ground in front of Ellie.

She was fairly large, going up to about Ellie's waist (though Ellie was a small bit below average as far as height went). It had long hair, and seemed to be related to some kind of border collie.

The dog had a deep brown coat, highlighted with a softer shade around her legs, chin and eyebrows. Her nose was white, as was a little spot on her chest, the tip of her tail, and two of her paws. She looked up at Ellie and then cocked her head curiously to the side. She stood carefully, lifting her paws as though the carpet under her feet felt strange. Then she fell into a bow and bounced back up, her tail beginning to wag.

The minute that she noticed her new limb, she spun around, either trying to get a good look, or trying to chase it.

Ellie laughed at her for a few moments, until a massive black form came prancing over to the collie.

It was a shaggy black mess, massive, with ears raised to a point and a thick tail. It was entirely black, a deep, glossy shade, although his eyes were grey.

He came up past Ellie's waist far enough to make her feel nervous, but he approached Rose with utmost caution, tentatively reaching out as she did, and the pair rubbed noses.

Rose let out a happy bark, which seemed to surprise her, as she barked again as though testing out her voice. Surprised, Sirius barked in reply. Soon the pair were chatting loudly while only speaking in barks and whines.

Ellie and James looked at Remus, and the three of them burst out laughing.

Rose licked Sirius's nose, and then quickly morphed into herself again.

She gasped when she was back to normal.

It was most peculiar. Now that he was human, you could see the general likeness between her and the dog.

"Bloody hell, that was-"

"Absolutely brilliant," Sirius shifted back right behind Rose and grabbed her waist, dipping her low and making her laugh.

"Remind me to copy your potions essay. You really are right about everything," he grinned, leaning down for a kiss. She returned it, but quickly came back.

"Wait just a moment, you're not out of the woods yet. I told you not to take that potion! You could have died!"

"At least I would have died with you."

"Don't get all romantic on me! That was dangerous!"

"Danger is my middle name."

"No it's not." James grinned. "Its that star guy. Remus, what's he called-"

"Orion."

"Orion. That's the one. Like the fairy."

"Oberon's the fairy, you daft dimbo," Sirius responded indignantly.

Ellie moved beside Rose as the other two happily argued about the manliness of Sirius' namesake.

Rose sighed, but couldn't seem to shake her grin.

"I'll never be able to properly punish him for that," Rose sighed.

"You don't need to. Having James Potter as your best friend is bad enough," Ellie replied, laughing, as Sirius turned himself into a dog again and began to chase his tail.

"Rose-" Remus called from across the din Sirius and James were making as Sirius jumped up and tried to lick his friend's face.

Rose threw a glance at the clock, and realized that they were running out of time. There was plenty, but still, she made it a habit to always be early.

Time constraints worried her nearly as much as Sirius' recklessness did.

"James, Ellie, you've got to do it now. Come on, Sirius, change back."

Sirius returned and donned an anxious look.

"So," asked James, looking doubtfully into his potion. "What are the odds that we aren't going to die?"

"Fairly good, considering Sirius and I didn't. But there's always a chance," Rose disclaimed.

James looked deep into Ellie's eyes for a moment, and she couldn't do much but gaze back.

Then he broke away, and she barely avoided cursing out loud.

"It's been nice knowing you all," he mused.

Ellie didn't say anything.

She relied on the fact that she wouldn't be dying at the moment, put her trust into her best friend wholeheartedly.

"Bottoms up," James grinned, as he swallowed his potion, Ellie finishing hers a moment later.

"Merlin," he gagged when he finished. "Not exactly pumpkin juice, is it?"

He too seemed to begin to experience the change, and from the outside, Rose could now see how bizarre it was. Limbs slowly twisting and contorting, facial features stretching and warped.

She turned and buried her face into Sirius' robes.

"I can't look," she mumbled, the sound muffled against his chest.

He rubbed her back subconsciously until it was over.

When she looked back, she had to do a double take.

For a moment, she thought that there were two of the exact same creature before her, that her vision had somehow gone double.

Then she realized that the creature on the left was missing antlers, not a stag, but a doe.

 _Ellie and James, too_.

Ellie cocked her head and looked at James, and then changed back to herself, the process growing quicker with each successive change.

"Rose, are you sure you got it right?"

"Ellie, the transformation couldn't have gone wrong. There's no way."

James turned back into his human form. Their clothes changed with them.

"Well, you know what that means," he grinned, eyes searching for Ellie's.

"It doesn't have to mean anything," Ellie replied, determinedly indifferent.

James pouted a bit to her back, but shook off his rejection.

"It means that we aren't going to die tonight! And that we've only got twenty minutes to Christmas!"

"What's that got to do with anything? We're just going to bed anyway," Rose replied, yawning.

"It's the spirit of the thing," James replied. "Presents and such in the morning! What do you say we take them into the common room to show them off once they're opened?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Remus grinned. He felt just as relieved as he looked, though still a bit haunted by Peter.

"I'm probably just going to get socks again," Rose replied, smiling. "Not really much to show off."

"I don't know if I'll be awake by morning," Ellie replied. "You might all have to wait until afternoon."

They all laughed at her.

"Why don't we get you to bed so that the rest of us don't have to wait so long?" Sirius suggested.

They all agreed and finished tidying up, eliminating all evidence that they had ever created an animagus potion in the room, and walking out arm in arm.

They said their goodbyes as they dropped the girls off at the foot of their dormitories, and went their separate ways. Which turned out to not be very separate at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How is it possible? I mean, you and Sirius being the same, that's one thing, you're perfect for each other, but James and I? Are you sure you haven't staged this, Rose?"

"Absolutely. Indefinitely. There's no way to mess up that sort of thing. If you think I might have tampered, then try to do a patronus charm. It should be the same thing."

"Rose, you _know_ I haven't been able to cast a corporeal patronus yet."

"Well, then don't cry to me. And for all I know, _most_ women in the world could have a doe as their spirit animal. It's purely coincidence and doesn't mean a damn thing if you don't want it to."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"When aren't I?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"But they were the same, Sirius. A matching set, just like you and Rose. And she _ignored_ it."

"It's all your fault, mate. I've been telling you that you need to stop beating around the bush."

"Remus, tell me he's wrong. There's no way that _I_ could have screwed up this badly."

"As much as I hate to say it, James, I think Sirius is right. You kissed her to spite someone else, and haven't acted romantically toward her since. She's a right to be cross."

"Peter, surely you'll defend-"

He cut himself off as he realized his mistake, sighing and then flopping down onto his bed, groaning into his pillow.

"Life is so hard."

"Don't I know it," Lupin sighed.

"Look James, all you have to do is tell her that you like her. Rose's told me any number of times what a hopeless romantic Ellie is. You just need to win her heart with a grand gesture."

"Thanks, mate. I think you're right this time."

"I'm always right," Sirius muttered as he collapsed into bed.

"Not as always right as I am," Remus muttered, sleep already taking him after a long day.

"Not as always right as Rose is." James corrected, lying awake despite how tired he was.

The moon was three-quarters full and looked out onto the grounds across the tower from him. He wondered what he should do to win Ellie's heart. No answer came to him quickly, and so he decided to take the longest possible path.

They were friends, and that was the first step. Now all he had to do was make the painstaking climb out of the friend zone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose knew that she was lucky. It had gone perfectly. They hadn't gotten caught. Peter had nearly given them away, but he was gone now, hopefully a part of their past that would stay in the past for now.

His lack of nerve had always worried her, but she'd hoped that it wouldn't have come to such a drastic end.

She knew the night's events had worried James, but she was more concerned about what it did to Sirius' ego and Remus' feelings.

 _All of that can wait for another night._

Rose loved Christmas. The part that was her favorite was the excitement in the air that came along with Christmas Eve, the free nervous energy that made you wonder what you were going to get the next morning. It was the peace of the night before, the cold chill creeping into the stone dormitory and the silent sweep of snow glowing outside of her window. She pulled herself onto the sill and looked out, the high snow swirling softly into drifts by a whistling wind.

While she drifted, lost in thought, she could feel the tugging of her new power on the edge of her consciousness. It waited to be used like a wand, only needing the right activations for her to be changed into the dog. She smiled as she thought of Sirius and his black hound, legs too long and paws too large, an idiotic grin on his mug.

He really _was_ perfect for her. But he wouldn't even hear from his family this Christmas. He only had his friends, which made him all the more alone. She'd had to fight her own mother tooth and nail to stay at school over the holidays, and she had only agreed when Rose had told her that the headmaster himself had requested that the prefects stay on to help out (which he hadn't). She desperately missed her own family and their traditional Christmas Eve dinner, but there hadn't been anything that she could do. It was all right though. There would always be next year.

Her thoughts wandered to her best friend, asleep in her bed next to the window, and of James. She hadn't known that they would end up a pair. And she knew that the idea didn't sit well with Ellie. But Ellie deserved a good guy, and that described James on most days. The only problem was getting her to change her mind.

But that was to be left for another day. As Rose climbed into bed and tucked herself in, she realized that all that she should be was grateful. Grateful for her friends, for Sirius, for good health and keeping out of trouble, and for this Christmas for being such an exceptional one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Oh my gosh i am a terrible person i had no idea that i'd waited this long to post this part, i am SO SORRY. but anyway, if you haven't noticed yet, ive just gone back and edited the begining of this story, just to brush it up a bit, as my writing has improved quite a bit since i first posted this story nearly a year ago. I also changed the name of rose's brother to nate in case anyone actually cares. Also, seeing as things have drastically improved since the beginning of this story, id like to offer anyone who stuck with it a hugh pat on the back. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing with your thoughts! Don't let the muggles get you down!_


	29. This Means War

Christmas was a proper gift.

James woke up to something massive and incredibly furry sitting on his chest, wriggling with restless energy.

"What the hell-"

The black dog leapt over to Remus' bed, where it barked loudly and sat down, tail thumping against the mattress. Remus simply rolled over and buried his head under his pillow. The dog's long nose followed and with another resounding bark, Remus popped up, rubbing his ear.

"All right, all right, I'm up!"

The mess of fur jumped off the quilted bed onto the cold stone floor, and suddenly, Sirius was standing in front of them, grinning like mad.

"Merry Christmas, chaps!" Sirius yelled, dodging the pillow that James aimed.

James was out of bed in half a second in deer form, forgoing the stack of presents to prance around and try out his new legs. Sirius was immediately a hound again, and the pair of them danced around each other in a strange jig, taking in the differences in form.

Remus watched them for only a few moments before throwing another pillow.

"Oi, you can keep doing that, but I'm going to start opening presents."

Immediately the two bed-headed boys were in human form again, excited like five year olds.

It was, as most of them would look back upon later, the first good day in a long string of good days.

They ate like they hadn't for a week (which was nearly true) and Sirius and James went back to their normally rambunctious selves in nearly every way. Lupin had even perked up a little more than usual.

Though they all felt strangely about Peter, they never mentioned anything about it, save in their dormitory when they were alone.

Later, he wouldn't so much as give them the time of day if he ran into them, and was even prone to look at them as though they had formerly been aggressors. He would scurry off whenever he happened to get close to them.

They were surprised to find themselves missing him, Sirius especially (surprised that was).

James would miss having someone who would laugh at even his most pathetic jokes, and Remus found himself mothering everyone else quite a bit more than he previously had, almost to compensate for how much he'd had to take care of Peter.

Sirius realized that he had lost someone who he could tease without repercussions, but not before he made up for the difference by taunting Frank Longbottom and nearly getting his hair hexed off.

Rose and Ellie didn't notice so much of a difference, but couldn't walk past him without feeling an awkward twinge of pity, or perhaps regret. They couldn't help but consider the very real possibility that they were wrong, or had judged him too quickly; was Peter really that cowardly? Would he have actually reported them? Had they just been scared into making a decision that could have ruined someone's life?

The girls took full credit for what they had done, and perhaps that was why they kept such good tabs on him while he was transitioning. They were incredibly stealthy and were sure that they hid their tracks well, but they knew nearly everything that he did for quite some time.

Peter woke up late on Christmas morning and opened his presents alone in his empty dorm. He seemed quite content though, receiving gifts from many family members, along with a special package of Honeyduke's best chocolate from Magda. He went to meet her for brunch, and spent the rest of day with her while she went around the castle and grounds complaining loudly about how she'd gotten less gifts this year, thanks to her rich aunt who had been sent to St. Mungos with dragon pox. It was some time during that day that she brought up the marauders for the first time.

"Seriously. You'd think an old bat like her would know better than to get sick around the holidays," she ranted, while Peter walked next to her, nodding.

The rest of the group was participating in a snowball fight in the courtyard as they walked past. Rose and Sirius were winning, only because they had enchanted the snow to do all the work; forming perfect spheres and flying themselves across the green where Remus and James were huddling behind a wall, trying to avoid the worst of the attack.

Ellie was hiding in a doorway, and heard every word of what Magda said next.

"Are you still friends with them, Pete?"

Peter watched them for a while, with a scowl slowly growing on his face.

"I never _was_ , actually. All I need is you. Let's go get dinner."

Ellie watched them go, holding hands, and couldn't help but to look at it as a good omen.

She grinned a bit and braced herself to get hit as she ran back into the fray.

"How the hell are we losing this badly?" James shouted, while a hail of snowballs flew over their heads.

"Rose must be using magic," Ellie replied, pulling her scarf up to keep out the chill, making her look like a bandit out of an old muggle western.

"Either that, or she's recruited a small army of gnomes to fight for her," Remus replied, narrowly dodging a particularly accurate throw.

"One way to find out," James replied. " _Immobulus_!"

The snowballs froze in place as they came, and the three defenders picked up ammunition (or in James' case levitated half of a snow bank) as they silently stalked across the courtyard, James nearly slipping halfway there on the icy cobblestones, making his snow pile bob precariously in midair.

Behind the wall on the far side, they found their aggressors locked in a totally different kind of battle; one which involved quite a bit more tongue. Snowballs were still forming themselves and being flung into the freezing spell.

"Fancy meeting you here," James said, while Lupin coughed, in a sorry attempt to conceal a laugh, The couple broke apart, and Rose turned a light shade of red.

Before Sirius could come up with a witty reply, James swung his wand in a massive arc, and the entire snowbank he'd been carrying dropped unceremoniously their heads.

"Merry Christmas, Padfeet. Now let's see you two try to dig your way out of this one."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Vanessa, I really _don't_ see what all the fuss is about-"

Vanessa Riddle turned towards her chiefest of lackeys, Clarissa Barnhart, and glared at her the way one might glare at a family pet after it had stolen a favorite pair of shoes for the third time.

" _Don't_ you, Clarissa? Of _course_ you don't. You're used to just seeing what I _tell_ you to see. But look at them now. What are they doing?"

The 'they' were the small group of troublemaking Gryffindors who had temporarily taken over the courtyard for a snowball fight, the typical group that Vanessa ranted about, led, as far as she was concerned, by James Potter.

"Um? Vanessa, you can see for yourself-"

"Just _tell me_. What do you see?"

"Well, there's James, with Remus beside him, they just dumped snow on Rose and Sirius-"

"But who _else_ is with them, Clarissa?"

"Oh, um. Ellie. Is that why you're so upset?"

"I'm not _upset_ , Clarissa. But he belongs with me. Not _her_. _Me_. And they're up to something. Sirius and James might stay for the holidays every year, but Ellie and Rose haven't _once_ before."

"Isn't that normal, though? Rose is dating Sirius now, and you heard Regulus. He's hardly welcome home any more."

They stopped watching the group as they stood around the snow laughing, and began to cross the courtyard.

"That's not enough. I'm telling you, they're absolutely _horrible_ girls. They have it in for me-"

"Vanessa, watch out-"

The snowballs formerly frozen in a spell came loose in a mad fury of icy missiles, and continued on their paths forward, hitting the two girls directly.

They screamed and dropped their bags, running for cover until the assault stopped suddenly a few moments later.

Freezing cold and sopping wet, they emerged from behind the wall to find no one else in the courtyard. Sliding across ice across to the other end, they investigated still to find no one.

" _This_. This is _exactly_ what I'm talking about. I'd bet my broom that Rose let that spell loose. She still hates me for what happened with Ellie all those years ago," she sniffed disdainfully, beginning to shiver in the cold.

"What _did_ you do to Ellie?"

"You were _there_ , Clarissa. In the Great Gall? With Bellatrix?"

"Ohhhhh," Clary remembered. "That was _really_ awful, actually. You _and_ Rose were nearly expelled."

"And _I_ for one don't intend to forgive her for that."

"How was it her fault, if _you_ were the one-"

"Shut up Clarissa. I'm freezing. Let's go get a change of clothes. Come along. I think I have a... _letter_ to write."

They left the courtyard very much aware that this had been the first strike in a war. One which Vanessa was determined would bring the Marauders to their knees.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _OKAY I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON, AND I AM SO SO SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK THIS LONG TO PUT THIS OUT BUT I GOT A JOB AND WORK AMD UGH_ LIFE _AND JUST IM SORRY OK._

 _but anyway, hope you enjoy this lil chapter. I make no promises about future updates, but can promise that they are directly linked to motivation which is directly linked to feedback, especially your feedback, so thank you so far for reading and reviewing, and I hope that you can someday forgive me for my terrible updating. Thanks again, and don't let the muggles get you down!_


	30. Animal Magnetism

**_JANUARY_**

The new year marked the return of the rest of the students and the resumption of classes, although by now, teachers had picked up from their normal pace to try to get as much teaching done as possible before the O.W.L.S. came in the spring.

It also marked the return of the full moon. Remus made his typical absence on the first day, and the Marauders were all sitting at breakfast, sorely missing him.

With Peter gone, Remus was now an even more vital member of the group, allowing James and Ellie to keep their much needed distance as they still tried not to be awkward to one another. He was also important to keep Sirius from getting too clingy to Rose as she could often talk to him easily as an escape.

Rose was contemplating this, and deliberating upon the importance of his absence, when her owl, Dog, came and landed on the table in front of her.

Although Dog usually didn't go to the great hall with deliveries from her cousin (which might prove to hold an illegal substance) letters from her normal family members would come in with breakfast as usual.

As eager as she was to open the correspondence from her family, she was stopped by an unsettling hoot from Dog.

Next to her, Sirius had been visited unusually by his family owl, a sleek black bird with only one eye.

"Oh _Merlin_."

"What is it?" Ellie asked, curious.

"It's- look, at the bottom. The green envelope," he prompted, moving the others aside gently with a fork, careful not to touch it.

"No." James replied, shocked.

"Yes. A howler," Rose replied, paling. It was from his mother by the looks of it, the handwriting curly and feminine.

"What for? We haven't been caught doing anything wrong, have we?" Ellie asked.

"No, not beyond the detention he had last week for turning all of Oliver's ink white," James replied, solemnly.

"Dog, pick it up please. We need to open this somewhere- _not_ here. If he touches it, odds are it will go off. James and Ellie, clear out the common room with the dungbombs you brought at Hogsmeade. I'll carry Dog up to the chamber."

"Good idea," James replied, as the pair of them stood and rushed out.

"What do you think it's about?" Rose asked, while Dog hopped onto her arm, and Sirius' family owl flew off.

"No idea," Sirius replied darkly.

"Brilliant," Rose sighed, leading the way as they left the Great Hall behind, trying not to be conspicuous.

"I know," Sirius grumbled. "But knowing her, it will be full of cursing, and enough comments about mudbloods to make even the Slytherins feel bad."

Leaving the hall, they had the misfortune of running directly into none other than Vanessa, flanked by Kyla and Clarissa.

"Leaving breakfast early, Bennett?" She asked, smirking.

"Waking up late, Vanessa?" Rose countered.

"What can I say? A girl needs her beauty rest. If she really is _pretty_ , that is," Vanessa crowed, making the girls behind her laugh. Sirius froze a few steps back, Rose stopping him before he could make a move. Her body language was clear; _leave this to me._

"Where are you going with that bird?" Kyla asked, suddenly curious.

"He's just come in tired and a little bit hurt is all," Rose supplied. Dog, to his credit, upon heating the words 'hurt' and 'tired' had done his best to look damaged, as it usually meant some extra treats or pampering for him, hooting pitifully and slumping over, Rose stifling a laugh.

"So? What are you going to do, give him to the kitchens to _cook_?" Vanessa asked, her lackeys giggling again.

"Nice try, but I'm not _quite_ that heartless. I'm going to go find some Pepperup potion. Can I get you some? It might help with those bags under your eyes," Rose offered.

"Ha-ha, Bennett. We all know that you, um, need that stuff more, because of all of the-um _studying_ that you do!" Clarissa replied, trying her best to make a comeback. She'd failed miserably, and even she knew it, especially after Vanessa hit her with her bag.

"Thank you, Clarissa. I'll try to keep that in mind. Have a good breakfast," Rose replied curtly, Vanessa clearly furious that her lackey had ruined the moment, letting Rose not only escape unscathed, but also win the day.

They hurried up the staircase back to Gryffindor tower to open the Howler.

XXXXXXXX

"What do you think _that_ was all about?" Sirius questioned, watching the witches over her shoulder as the pair of them hurried up the grand staircase.

"I dunno. But it wasn't good. The fact that she's willing to confront us is concerning. But we have more pressing things to attend to. Come on!" They picked up their pace until they were sprinting through the castle, the impending doom that their owl held fresh in their minds.

They sprinted around a corner a little bit too quickly, and very nearly ran straight into Dumbledore, but they kept running.

"Sorry, Sir! No time to explain," Rose exclaimed as they kept up the sprint.

If they would've turned around, they'd've seen Dumbledore chuckling at them.

As it was, however, they kept up until they reached the common room, where James was standing guard outside.

"Hurry," he instructed, as they approached. "We can only keep people out for so long." Ellie waited inside at the far end of the common room to keep people in their dorms. She wore a bubble-headed charm that allowed her to stand where several dungbombs had just been set off.

The pair holding the bird opened the passage as quickly as they could and hurried inside, flanked by James. Ellie would stand watch so that they could eventually exit inconspicuously, but until then, they were clear.

"That was almost too easy," James grinned, panting from the run down the hall.

"Hardly," Rose gasped, clutching her side.

The envelope in Dog's beak began to twitch, and the small bird let out a muffled hoot in alarm. As steam flooded from the envelope's opening he gingerly dropped it onto the desk where it continued smoking.

Sirius reached for it, ignoring various protests.

"Wait. Sirius, you don't have to hear this. Why don't you just-"

"Come on, mate, _don't_ -"

He grabbed the letter, and with a pop, the envelope flew violently out of his hand, levitating over their heads, where it transfigured itself into a wide mouth with dark lips.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK, HOW _DARE_ YOU. CONSORTING WITH THE MUGGLE LOVING POTTERS WAS ONE THING BUT THIS IS A NEW LOW. THE BENNETTS?! TRAITOROUS SCUM FROM AMERICA, BLOODY _YANKS_ FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! THEY WERE THE ONES TO HAVE YOUR UNCLES ARRESTED, YOU PIECE OF FILTH, LOWLIFE POND SCUM, UNGRATEFUL SWINE. LOOK AT YOUR BROTHER, HONORING THE FAMILY NAME WHILE YOU DRAG IT THROUGH THE MUDBLOOD REFUSE WITH BLOOD TRAITORS AND MUGGLE LOVERS. YOUR OWN COUSIN WAS NEARLY _KILLED_ BY THAT ROSE BENNETT ONLY A FEW YEARS AGO, HOW _COULD_ YOU DEFILE THE FAMILY PRIDE BY MIXING WITH SUCH REPULSIVE PUTREFACTION?! YOU HAD BEST NOT COME HOME AGAIN, BOY, BECAUSE IF YOU DO THERE WILL BE SOME _LOVELY_ HEXES WITH YOUR NAME ON THEM. YOU ARE GOING TO TURN OUT TO BE ONE MUGGLE-LOVING VAT OF DRAGON PISS SOMEDAY. WHAT DISGRACE FOR A SON OF MINE TO BE PUBLICLY INVOLVED WITH _THAT_ SORT. YOU HAD BETTER HOPE THAT I NEVER SO MUCH AS _SEE_ THAT GIRL OF YOURS. IF I EVER FIND YOUR SCHEMING BITCH, YOU'D BETTER BRING A BAG TO PICK UP THE PIECES OF WHAT WILL BE LEFT OF HER. I'VE GOT A CRUCIATUS CURSE WITH HER NAME ON IT AND I _WILL_ USE IT, BOY. BELIEVE ME, SHE WILL-"

But what exactly would happen to Rose was lost to the ages, as Sirius lit the Howler on fire before both of Rose and James, who were staring at it, too stunned to do anything but jump.

"Don't mind her. Couple of screws loose, if you ask me," Sirius apologized shakily, not really sounding convinced himself.

James let out a low breath.

"That was one of the worst so far," he commented, still rather shaken.

Sirius walked over to Rose who was staring absently at the little pile of ash left on the floor from the outburst.

"Darling? Are you all right? I'm terribly sorry that you had to hear that."

Rose looked up into his eyes curiously, looking somewhere between sad and... _Alive_ , somehow. She seemed to have taken something in the letter as a challenge, as she had the familiar glint in her eye that said as much.

"I'm fine. But Sirius..."

The sad part of her seemed to take over as her eyes teared up. She leaned forward into his chest and looked up at him. "I'm just so worried about you."

For a moment, he paused, but started to laugh almost immediately.

"You've just been threatened to be tortured to death, and you're worried about _me_? It sounds like you need to sort out your priorities," he suggested, making her laugh a bit.

"But, Sirius, that was your _mother_. Aren't you...?"

"Horrified? Mortally embarrassed? Ready and willing to commit matricide? Yes, yes, and _yes_. But this has all happened before," he explained. "You should've seen the one from my sorting. She always does this. It's not like I wanted to go back to the dingy old hellhole that was my house. I've been dealing with this for years, especially with James and Remus' help. Trust me, she'll stay far away from both of us. I'll keep you safe. Hell, you can keep yourself safe. You have my permission to curse off the ears of all the rest of my family members, if you want to. Just not Regulus. He's a special case. Deal?" She slipped a half smile.

"Deal. Can I do the noses too? I've always found Bellatrix's to be rather ugly," she commented lightly.

"Of course. Any time you want to," Sirius replied, leaning in for a kiss.

"I'd hate to be anything like the Howler you just heard but that is absolutely unnecessary as well as _repulsive_ , and classes start in ten minutes, in case you're interested."

The pair broke apart, and joined James in heading back to the school, where classes were in fact just beginning to start. Although both Rose and James quickly forgot about the letter, it lingered on Sirius's mind for quite some time, introducing a new worry. One that grew quickly as the summer holidays approached.

Rose had decided as they left the ash heap behind that she would finally write to her parents about Sirius. After all, nothing that they would have to say could be _that_ bad, could it?

Meanwhile, with the O.W.L.S. nearing, classes were becoming quite challenging, even for Rose, though not nearly as much of a challenge as the night's events would prove to be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Remus had already tried to reason with them before the transformation, but he'd had no luck in convincing them to abandon him.

"Look, we've already done the hard part. Now there's just to hang out with you," James reminded Remus, as the marauders had sat in an empty common room.

"That might turn out to be easy compared to what you're about to do," Remus argued pointedly. "What I have... a lot of great wizards have said that they'd rather die than have lycanthropy. Why risk it? What happens if something goes wrong? What if you lose your transformation?"

"What 'great wizards' have said that exactly?" Ellie asked, slightly amused.

"None of them," Rose replied, looking up from her book long enough to squash Remus' argument.

"You've only been animagi for-what, ten hours? This is a bad idea."

"It'll have been much longer than that by the time we're actually with you, though," Sirius replied. "And most of what I do is a bad idea. I take pride in that."

"Still," Lupin persisted. "What if you lose your form? I could just kill you. I won't even know who you are."

"Remus, we have _control_ of your shifting, unlike-" James flinched as though he'd accidentally burned his tongue. Remus couldn't control his transformations. It was as good as bragging. "Sorry," he apologized quickly.

"I do not accept your apology. Please go away and remain out of my sight until after the full moon," Lupin replied with a finality, flopping down onto a couch.

"I doubt he'd be able to stay away for that long," Sirius joked, lifting Lupin's feet up to sit on the couch underneath them. "Animal magnetism." James laughed, but Ellie sighed and rolled her eyes, finally gaining Rose's attention for long enough that she closed her book and put it aside.

"Remus, we are going to be perfectly safe. If one of us loses it, someone else will protect them with enough time to escape. We know it'd only be worse for you if something happened. So stop worrying," Rose ordered.

"You heard the woman. We're here for you, mate. Through thick and thin. And if that involves a little bit of risk, then so be it. You're worth that and more to us," James said fiercely, his eyes glinting in the firelight.

Remus's stern glare broke a little bit.

"Animal magnetism," Sirius whispered, forcing all of them to dissolve into laughter.

"This one," Lupin announced, sitting up and flopping back down on Sirius' shoulder. "Is why I'm so concerned about something going wrong." They only laughed harder.

"I think you mean _everything_ going wrong," Ellie supplied.

Once they got over their laughter, a detailed plan was made; one which tailored to Remus' normal routine while being especially careful to avoid Madam Pomfrey.

They were ready.

XXXXXXX

It had all led up to this. Years of careful planning and agonizing processes.

So it _had_ to be worth it.

But all of them would be lying if they said that they weren't rather terrified. No matter what they had assured Remus of earlier, though they knew the risks and had plans for escape, they still could not deny that what they were doing was either incredibly brave-or incredibly stupid.

In the tunnel under the shrieking shack, the sun was barely setting as Rose took a deep breath and moved aside the floorboard behind a stack of old crates, pulling herself through the dingy hole, trying not to cut her hands. She was a dog before a half second had passed, and stuck her head back down the trap door, letting out one bark in greeting. Her long tail swished idly behind her, and she found it a great trial not to turn around and snap at it.

 _No, not now,_ she reminded. _Remus. Remus now. The plan. Now is the plan._

Rose faced the door on the far side of the hallway and guarded the hole in the ground and her human friends as they climbed up and transformed, Ellie last, only after she closed the trapdoor.

As a dog, Rose was fully abstracted. Not only her body had changed, but her mind as well. She had a shorter attention span, and had to continually focus on what she was doing, or she would find herself off sniffing an intriguing smell in the corner or chasing a rat. Sirius was probably the wort distraction of all, as every time she saw him, she would have to quell the urge to bark a hello, or begin jumping around excitedly, or -well, it seemed that animal magnetism existed between _animals_ too.

Ellie and James, however, somehow remained stoically separate.

Though the two species spoke differently, somehow all could read each other's form of body language enough to proceed carefully through the Shrieking Shack. Somewhat newly constructed, it wasn't particularly scary beyond the perfectly white walls in every room and the idea that it was supposed to be the most haunted building in Britain.

 _Oh, and the massive claw marks and broken furniture, and is that- blood? Smells like it,_ Rose thought.

An odd assortment of furniture was used; what looked like leftovers gathered from antique shops or donated supplies were the only decorations used. An old clock hung in one of the rooms, paint peeling, with hands that could only be correct twice a day, though Rose found it a challenge to read its faded numbers and other strange dials that adorned it.

They proceeded as Remus had instructed them to, to a particular room that he said he liked to change in. He said it was because it had a rather comfortable carpet that was nice for sitting on while he waited for the moon to rise.

They approached, and though the door was mostly closed, Sirius nosed it open slowly, not quite sure what they would find.

Remus was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. In the near darkness, all of the animal-children could see quite well, and they all immediately noticed how pale and gaunt their friend looked. Their above-average hearing betrayed how fluttery his heartbeat was, and they could quite literally smell his fear.

Rose paused before entering, lowering her head and cocking it slightly to the side.

Remus sat up and turned around slowly, his expression melancholy; glad to see them, but concerned of the risk.

"Hullo," he whispered, noticing their hesitation.

Rose slowly trotted forward and sniffed his shirt in greeting, and he rubbed behind her ears. Her tail thumped on the ground and she looked intently into his eyes.

 _Hullo, Remus_ , she wanted to say.

She wasn't alone for long at all, though, as Sirius let out a jolly bark and bounded over, licking Remus' face, much to his protest. They were followed by James and Ellie, who lowered their heads in greeting, James bowing his long legs until he had sat down next to Remus on the thick green carpet, his short antlers making it a challenge not to poke his friend's eyes out.

"Now I know I told you not to change back until I do, but we have a few minutes left, and I think I can still ask you questions. Can you nod your heads if you understand me?" Remus asked.

Four nods.

"Excellent. Did you get here all right?"

Four nods.

"Are you all sure that you still want to do this?"

Four nods, a strange grumble from James, and an eye roll from Rose. Remus all but laughed.

"How bad was Sirius when I wasn't around today?"

Rose rolled over onto her side and covered her eyes with one leg, while James sprang to his feet and dramatically mimed dying, as Ellie honked with laughter.

Sirius stood and looked aghast, but his tail wagged, enough to distract him into chasing it, which he did for several minutes, all while Lupin laughed hysterically.

Midway through, though, he stopped and clutched at his heart, where apparently he'd felt a sudden change. Rose heard it too, the flutter had intensified, and all though he hadn't really done any exercise, Lupin's heart began to race as though he'd been sprinting. His breathing came in short shuddering gasps.

Next to her, Sirius had come to full attention, ears perked and stance prepared, and was fixedly staring at his friend, a low whine starting in his throat. James and Ellie both stood, shocked, and Ellie took a step back subconsciously.

Remus began shaking, and Sirius darted forward, in an attempt to help, but he was shooed away.

"Stand back. This- _hurts_ ," Remus grunted, shaking even worse.

He clenched his fists and his jaw tightly, and the transformation began, faster than Rose would've believed possible. His nose stretched into a snout and his body lengthened. Clothing was split at the seams and hair sprouted. Rose likened it to a horror film, one which disgusted yet intrigued her, where she was compelled to look away but instead kept focused, so as to not miss a single detail. The drastic morphing continued. This was not like their smooth transfigurations into animals. It was clearly very painful and not at all as familiar or seamless. Even with that being so, before so much as two minutes had passed, a full werewolf stood in front of them, all of the signs they'd learned in class displayed obviously.

To say that Rose was shocked was an understatement. She'd known exactly what she'd been walking into, but this... This wasn't like anything _natural_. This wasn't a dog or a wolf or some other wild creature. This was _wrong_. It was insane and broken and _wrong_. She wasn't quite sure how, but she knew that he was infected. That was what this was. The infection taken over. Something primal and canine in her gut told her that, though he could've been a strange looking wolf, he wasn't. He was _sick_. She knew it in the way that a human might know that someone nearing them was a zombie. Bitten and bloodthirsty and unfit for human life in the worst way.

And, speaking of approaching, the werewolf had ceased tearing up the mattress for long enough to turn around and look at the whimpering noises that Rose had accidentially been making. Instinctively, she raised her lip to show her teeth and crouched below Sirius' neck, a reflex that she only later realized was to protect his throat. Her hackles rose and she tensed, waiting for an attack, though Sirius stayed slightly calm, letting out a low note in warning to her. She positioned her feet to better prepare to leap at the threat.

And then (though it had completely slipped her mind for a moment) the thought that this was _Remus_ resurfaced.

 _Remus, who cleans up all of James and Sirius' laundry! Remus, who loans you books when you get bored. Remus, who just a moment ago was joking with you and your friends!_

The werewolf watched curiously as she relaxed and sat down primly, lowering her head down onto her arms eventually.

It cocked its head to the side.

She tentatively barked in greeting.

Sirius, instead barked in reply, probably distracted or not paying attention, which made James nervously honk with laughter.

The wolf stared at them curiously, sniffed the air for a moment, then bowed low as though in greeting, a pantomime familiar among all dogs as an invitation to play.

Sirius and James were on their feet in a moment, igniting a game of chase that they all joined in to play. They ran through the house and created quite a din with all of their different, strange animal noises, running into things and even breaking through a few walls. Remus was quite fond of howling, though it was now a sound of excitement, definitively distinguishable from the melancholy noises that Rose and Sirius had heard all those months ago on Halloween. They wrestles and tousled and barked at each other, Remus not quite understanding why or how, but still glad to join in nonetheless. He'd told them earlier that in the absence of anything to do (or to _attack_ , as he'd actually said) he would usually scratch _himself_ up, or would otherwise break or tear apart furniture, but with the others there to distract him, he didn't have the same trouble.

Their play lasted for a few more hours, until they were all exhausted. Although Remus usually didn't sleep much as the wolf, he'd apparently been sufficiently tired out, or in any case his mind had been put to rest, his typical angst disbanded. He wasn't himself, not by far, but this night was the beginning of something new, where he wasn't the worst of the beast either. He'd been able to calm his murderous urges with the help of his friends, and although he wouldn't remember any of it in the morning, they'd begun to change him for the better.

For that night though, they all ended up back in the room where they had started, collapsed in exhaustion in a massive dog pile on the drab, green carpet. They were comfortable and cozy, and content in the idea that they all had each other to look out for them.

Even if one of them happened to be a werewolf.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _SO that chapter happened (as I am overly fond of saying). As i kind of explained in a response to a review recently, i have some terrible writer's block as far as this story goes, mostly because the people who i based a bunch of the characters on aren't really very close to me any more. So, with that being said, i'm still going to continue writing this, but it might be a little slower or different, i'm not sure yet. As per usual, thank you for reading and reviewing, as well as for the well wishes! Feel free to give me opinions or ideas, if you have any! Don't let the muggles get you down!_


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